The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $15,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Paragon Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,519,000. Cassia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $587,000. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $41,645,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 5,981 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longboard Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $261,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PGR opened at $248.13 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $179.90 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $246.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $145.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 14.4 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 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.