Headland Capital LLC Makes New $47.50 Million Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Headland Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 198,252 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $47,503,000. Progressive makes up 16.3% of Headland Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $287.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. The trade was a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:PGR traded up $5.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $282.79. 1,566,016 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,630,126. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. 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 company has a market cap of $165.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $274.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.15.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.70%.

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.