Palestra Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Palestra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3,397.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 598,554 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 581,441 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up approximately 3.9% of Palestra Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Palestra Capital Management LLC owned 0.10% of Progressive worth $143,420,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $282.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,216,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,630,388. The firm has a market cap of $165.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $274.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $259.23. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PGR. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.41.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,302,084.80. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097 over the last quarter. 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.