Continuum Advisory LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its holdings in Progressive by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 238,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,132,000 after acquiring an additional 68,589 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 100.3% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Progressive by 295.1% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 223,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,609,000 after buying an additional 31,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.24.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $285.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.