The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Position Raised by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Progressive by 11.3% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,402,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Advisor Resource Council purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, Montecito Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $14,102,075 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.59.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Progressive stock opened at $279.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $163.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $254.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.60. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $194.49 and a fifty-two week high of $287.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Progressive Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.