Inceptionr LLC Boosts Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Inceptionr LLC raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 209.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,360 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,304 shares during the quarter. Inceptionr LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% during 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. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Progressive by 1,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $281.84 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $252.70 and a 200 day moving average of $252.11. The company has a market capitalization of $165.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $191.00 and a 1-year high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’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 value of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $14,102,075 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.59.

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.