Sapient Capital LLC Buys Shares of 1,876 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in 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 institutional investor acquired 1,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $299,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 109.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE PGR opened at $203.90 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $212.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.87, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.20%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $264.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $93,251.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,921 shares in the company, valued at $4,725,350.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,629 shares of company stock worth $8,348,176. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.