CWA Asset Management Group LLC Purchases 157 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,764 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 1.1 %

PGR stock opened at $242.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $251.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.94. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $162.35 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62. The firm has a market cap of $141.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168 in the last ninety days. 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.