Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,062 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $273.08 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $261.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $254.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts anticipate 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $479,391.36. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 26,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,546,174.02. This represents a 5.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,495 shares of company stock valued at $16,668,034. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

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.