Rathbones Group PLC Buys 231 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $446,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Progressive by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,521,545 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,323,018,000 after purchasing an additional 153,044 shares during the last quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Progressive by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 34,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,276,000 after purchasing an additional 18,250 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $331,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 17.0% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 187,376 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,344,000 after purchasing an additional 27,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 221,596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $53,097,000 after purchasing an additional 23,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $142,324.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $969,024.07. This represents a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 4.0 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $270.69 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $158.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $270.81 and a 200 day moving average of $256.95. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $288.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.41.

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.