Americana Partners LLC Buys Shares of 1,333 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Americana Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $840,885,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $802,968,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,449 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Progressive by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,721,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $871,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Progressive by 31.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,781,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $666,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,591 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $1,005,116.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,821,329.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $93,251.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,921 shares in the company, valued at $4,725,350.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $1,005,116.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at $78,821,329.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,629 shares of company stock worth $8,348,176 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $210.39 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $212.24. The company has a market capitalization of $123.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $195.16 and a 200-day moving average of $171.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 6.28%. The business had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 9.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 6.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $227.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $144.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. HSBC boosted their target price on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $191.44.

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.