The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Holdings Lifted by Egerton Capital UK LLP

Egerton Capital UK LLP lifted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,827,156 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,262 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up about 7.8% of Egerton Capital UK LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Egerton Capital UK LLP’s holdings in Progressive were worth $677,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 75.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 36,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,145,000 after purchasing an additional 566,656 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $277.33 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $255.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.33. The company has a market cap of $162.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $195.57 and a 12-month high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total transaction of $344,787.00. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 28,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,978,433. The trade was a 4.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.