Kane Investment Management Inc. Purchases New Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Kane Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 3,625 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $869,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 54.7% during 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 during the period. Washington Trust Bank grew its position in shares of Progressive by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management raised its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at $75,759,663.84. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $969,024.07. The trade was a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $278.85 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $163.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $272.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $257.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.71.

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.