Oxford Asset Management LLP Has $1.78 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Oxford Asset Management LLP increased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 215.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,415 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,062 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up about 0.9% of Oxford Asset Management LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Oxford Asset Management LLP's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. UBS Group upped their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 43,749 shares of company stock valued at $11,972,513. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0 %

PGR traded up $5.50 on Wednesday, reaching $281.81. 3,123,912 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,635,289. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company's 50 day moving average is $274.29 and its 200-day moving average is $258.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $165.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

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.