The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Financial Management Professionals Inc.

Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 161.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 683 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $806,000 after buying an additional 635 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,650,000 after acquiring an additional 3,281 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 2,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Shelton Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Shelton Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,846 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $922,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 21,846 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,637 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $243.79 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $166.92 and a one year high of $270.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $250.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $142.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 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 value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,938 shares of company stock worth $7,473,490 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.24.

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.