Oak Thistle LLC Buys 5,934 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Oak Thistle LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 190.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,934 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 0.6% of Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Oak Thistle LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Progressive by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 90.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in Progressive by 84.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares in the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its stake in Progressive by 9.5% in the second quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 28,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,856,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after buying an additional 330,667 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $239.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $140.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $251.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.00. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $166.92 and a twelve month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.