LPL Financial LLC Has $113.50 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 473,677 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 82,404 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $113,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PGR opened at $274.57 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $160.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $263.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,855 shares of company stock worth $16,767,455. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.