Elm3 Financial Group LLC Invests $1.29 Million in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Elm3 Financial Group 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 Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,396 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,000. Progressive accounts for about 1.1% of Elm3 Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Progressive by 6.9% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 119,306 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,275,000 after purchasing an additional 7,696 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 188.9% in the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 4.4% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PGR opened at $248.99 on Thursday. 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 Progressive Co. has a one year low of $179.90 and a one year high of $270.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $246.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.29. The company has a market capitalization of $145.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.71.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.