The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by Eminence Capital LP

Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,432 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,635 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $27,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.6 %

Progressive stock opened at $283.98 on Wednesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $275.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $259.61. The stock has a market cap of $166.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company 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. 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 currently 2.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company's 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 approximately $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 248,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.41.

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.

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