Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 4,217 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 75,665 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,217 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Progressive were worth $18,130,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $287.65.

Progressive Trading Up 1.1%

PGR stock traded up $3.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $283.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,014,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,636,413. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.72. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.70%.

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.