St. Clair Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

St. Clair Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 76,191 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,256,000. Progressive makes up about 5.2% of St. Clair Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 238,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $57,132,000 after purchasing an additional 68,589 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 100.3% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 295.1% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 223,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,609,000 after purchasing an additional 31,390 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $285.93 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $275.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.81. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $167.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company 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.