Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,376 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,170 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $45,344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 221,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $53,097,000 after buying an additional 23,595 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 186,595 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,710,000 after acquiring an additional 36,500 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,016,045 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $243,455,000 after purchasing an additional 144,108 shares during the last quarter. Ted Buchan & Co boosted its stake in Progressive by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Ted Buchan & Co now owns 10,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,024.07. This trade represents a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 1.0 %

PGR stock opened at $255.03 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $269.31 and its 200 day moving average is $256.73. The firm has a market cap of $149.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.29.

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.