Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 64,154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $15,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its stake in Progressive by 1,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $248.13 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $246.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.09. The firm has a market cap of $145.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $179.90 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

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.