Inceptionr LLC Boosts Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Inceptionr LLC increased its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 209.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,304 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 17.1% in the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 15.3% in the third quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter worth $130,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 17.0% in the third quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,638 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $669,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 11.3% in the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,525 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,402,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5 %

Progressive stock opened at $281.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $191.00 and a one year high of $287.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s fifty day moving average is $252.70 and its 200 day moving average is $252.11.

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, 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was 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 directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $14,102,075. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.59.

Progressive Company 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.