C WorldWide Group Holding A S Invests $2.45 Million in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 10,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,450,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $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, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its position in Progressive by 1,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.12.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $265.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $155.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $249.35. 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 $186.94 and a 1 year high of $270.79.

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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

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.