Financial Strategies Group Inc. Buys 1,883 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Financial Strategies Group Inc. raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 1.1% of Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Financial Strategies Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its position in Progressive by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.2% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. BSW Wealth Partners lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $208.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,916,791 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,591,491. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $111.41 and a 1 year high of $212.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $197.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.59. The stock has a market cap of $122.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 10.5 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $1,005,116.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,821,329.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $93,251.24. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,725,350.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $1,005,116.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at $78,821,329.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 44,629 shares of company stock worth $8,348,176. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $208.31.

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.