Principal Securities Inc. Increases Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 10.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,186 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2 %

PGR opened at $262.71 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $153.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $186.94 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $244.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $247.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PGR. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Progressive 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.