The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Position Boosted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 16.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,016,045 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 144,108 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.17% of Progressive worth $243,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $580,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in Progressive by 112.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $142,324.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at $969,024.07. This represents a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.29.

Progressive Stock Down 10.4 %

Progressive stock opened at $257.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $150.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $269.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $256.74. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

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.