Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 4,705 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,705 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $749,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded down $2.13 on Thursday, hitting $210.07. 1,882,507 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,610,821. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $216.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.83. The firm has a market cap of $123.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.88.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. 0.34% of the stock is currently 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.