Sovereign s Capital Management LLC Makes New $3.81 Million Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sovereign s Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,897 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,809,000. Progressive comprises about 2.4% of Sovereign s Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 54.7% during 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. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 1.5%

PGR traded down $4.10 on Thursday, reaching $276.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,505,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,644,619. The stock has a market cap of $162.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business's 50 day moving average is $275.62 and its 200 day moving average is $262.42.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. This represents a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,546,174.02. This represents a 5.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Roth Mkm upped 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.24.

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.