The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,667,903 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 111,659 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 1.7% of Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.63% of Progressive worth $878,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total transaction of $2,685,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total value of $344,787.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 28,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,978,433. This represents a 4.14 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $283.98. 1,914,420 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,627,570. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $259.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $166.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.41.

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.