Signaturefd LLC Raises Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 744 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 109.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $214.69 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $111.41 and a one year high of $215.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. HSBC raised their price target on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

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.