Manchester Global Management UK Ltd Buys Shares of 49,800 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Manchester Global Management UK Ltd acquired a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 49,800 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,933,000. Progressive comprises about 1.6% of Manchester Global Management UK Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Progressive from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.76.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $265.11. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,826,933 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,635,464. 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 Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $274.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,199,142.56. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,749 shares of company stock worth $11,786,613 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

About Progressive

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.