Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,217 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Progressive were worth $18,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Up 0.1 %

PGR opened at $284.33 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $166.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $275.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.28.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.65.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total transaction of $2,685,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.