Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt Grows Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Progressive were worth $189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Compass Ion Advisors LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Progressive by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $209.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $212.24. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.57.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

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.