Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Increases Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 155.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,747 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $243.79 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $142.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $166.92 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $250.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.03.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.52 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.24.

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.