Townsquare Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 28.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,051 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,238 shares during the quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total value of $110,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,084.80. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total value of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $275.96 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $161.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $272.94 and its 200 day moving average is $257.55.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $288.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.71.

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.