Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $205,000 Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 10.2% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners increased its position in shares of Progressive by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC grew its position in Progressive by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, April 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.88.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $215.53 on Wednesday. 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 $216.33. The business’s 50-day moving average is $205.21 and its 200 day moving average is $180.74. The company has a market capitalization of $126.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

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.