Washington Trust Bank Has $255,000 Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in Progressive were worth $255,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during 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. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares in the company, valued at $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 65,495 shares of company stock worth $16,668,034. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.6 %

PGR opened at $273.08 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $261.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.01. 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 firm has a market cap of $160.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PGR. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.06.

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.