SMART Wealth LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

SMART Wealth LLC bought a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 119.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 34.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $251.80 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $253.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.02. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $149.14 and a 1-year high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. This trade represents a 9.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,839 shares of company stock worth $6,718,965. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.