Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Invests $230,000 in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,442 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 230.7% during the 4th quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 9,206 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 6,422 shares during the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $4,485,000. Strata Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $2,864,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $214.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $200.53 and a 200-day moving average of $176.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $216.21.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

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.