Madison Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 432,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $103,628,000. Progressive accounts for about 1.2% of Madison Investment Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after acquiring an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position 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 valued at $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 36,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,145,000 after buying an additional 566,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $277.52 on Thursday. 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 $197.77 and a 12-month high of $287.49. The stock has a market cap of $162.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $256.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.50.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total transaction of $344,787.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 28,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,978,433. This trade represents a 4.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.59.

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.