Evoke Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Evoke Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,442 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the period. Evoke Wealth LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,495 shares of company stock valued at $16,668,034 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $273.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $160.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $260.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in 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 report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised shares of 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

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.