Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Has $4.14 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 55.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,485 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co raised its position in shares of Progressive by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 833.3% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:PGR opened at $196.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $192.02 and a 1-year high of $289.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $202.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.43.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.03%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Progressive from $227.00 to $210.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.39.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.