Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 46,507 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,338,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 46,507 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Progressive worth $320,710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alteri Wealth LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $848,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 181,723 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $43,543,000 after purchasing an additional 22,590 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 571,468 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,929,000 after buying an additional 44,348 shares in the last quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP lifted its position in Progressive by 26.1% in the 4th quarter. 140 Summer Partners LP now owns 405,746 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $97,221,000 after buying an additional 83,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Rock Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $358,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $284.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,542,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,625,669. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $275.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $260.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.65.

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.