The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 58.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 831 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Progressive by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $251.33 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $147.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $245.32. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $180.68 and a one year high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.71.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company 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.