Eukles Asset Management Reduces Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Eukles Asset Management trimmed its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 17,466 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 1.3% of Eukles Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 15,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,417,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 129,043 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 107,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, 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 transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:PGR traded up $4.84 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $214.59. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,858,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,586,941. The company has a market cap of $125.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $111.41 and a one year high of $214.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $199.28 and its 200-day moving average is $174.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm 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%. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.16 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.