Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Raises Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,553,976 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 59,892 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 0.8% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned about 0.27% of Progressive worth $372,348,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during 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 during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in 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 position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.41.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR traded up $5.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $282.79. 1,566,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,632,051. The company's 50-day moving average is $274.78 and its 200 day moving average is $259.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $165.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current 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 $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 2.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 269,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.