The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Holdings Increased by Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 163.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,220 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Progressive by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 36,819.8% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,145,000 after buying an additional 566,656 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in Progressive by 102.3% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,992 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,102,000 after buying an additional 518,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,495 shares of company stock valued at $16,668,034 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $273.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $261.96 and its 200-day moving average is $254.99. The firm has a market cap of $160.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.06.

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.