The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Raised by Carret Asset Management LLC

Carret Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,300 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE PGR traded down $1.82 on Wednesday, hitting $212.20. 2,632,827 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,620,038. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $216.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $124.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.58.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted 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 business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Progressive’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.88.

About Progressive

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.