Continuum Advisory LLC Has $3.77 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 642 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $285.37 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $275.68 and its 200-day moving average is $262.29. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $167.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Equities 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,616,766.16. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.24.

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.