Novem Group Purchases Shares of 1,075 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Novem Group bought a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,075 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in 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 last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR traded down $2.26 on Wednesday, hitting $276.49. 882,799 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,641,722. The business has a 50-day moving average of $275.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $263.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month 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 data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. UBS Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.59.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,384 shares of company stock valued at $11,711,495. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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.