The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Position Raised by Eukles Asset Management

Eukles Asset Management lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,227 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 1.9% of Eukles Asset Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $250.64 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $245.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $180.72 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.71.

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.