The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,480,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $55,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,566,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,044,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 99.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 1,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at $75,462,306.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,749 shares of company stock worth $11,786,613 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Progressive from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.76.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $265.11 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $274.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $258.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $155.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.70%.

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.