Manchester Global Management UK Ltd Makes New $11.93 Million Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Manchester Global Management UK Ltd bought a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 49,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,933,000. Progressive accounts for about 1.6% of Manchester Global Management UK Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ClearAlpha Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $208,000. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,240,181 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $536,770,000 after buying an additional 6,023 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,469 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,665,000 after acquiring an additional 2,733 shares during the period. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,070,000. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 7,608 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $257.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $273.93 and a 200-day moving average of $257.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America raised their price target on Progressive from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $285.76.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 258,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,199,142.56. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at $969,024.07. This represents a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.