Tidal Investments LLC Grows Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 75.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,494 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,331 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $30,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its stake in Progressive by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 238,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $57,132,000 after purchasing an additional 68,589 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 100.3% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares during the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp grew its position in shares of Progressive by 295.1% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $504,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 223,734 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $53,609,000 after acquiring an additional 31,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,813 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $0.84 on Friday, reaching $277.96. 560,139 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,433. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $275.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $262.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors 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 was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total transaction of $2,799,400.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 42,384 shares of company stock worth $11,711,495. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive 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.