Brighton Jones LLC Buys New Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,811 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $288,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 85,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,862,000 after buying an additional 2,452 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 68,634 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $9,561,000 after purchasing an additional 6,386 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 128,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Bensler LLC increased its position in Progressive by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bensler LLC now owns 44,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,203,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $208.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.34. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $111.41 and a one year high of $216.21. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $203.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The company 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%. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid 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 yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

About Progressive

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.