Natixis Advisors L.P. Raises Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 697,904 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 42,639 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $111,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded down $2.70 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $209.10. 703,074 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,597,570. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $216.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $203.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

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.