Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Raises Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 832,991 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 21,273 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 18.6% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Progressive were worth $132,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 143.6% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR traded down $2.13 on Thursday, hitting $210.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,881,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,610,821. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.83. The firm has a market cap of $123.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $216.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139 in the last three months. 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.