Fulton Bank N.A. Raises Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 425 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sterneck Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Range Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $308,000. Bank of New Hampshire lifted its position in Progressive by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 450 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 28.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $399,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Progressive by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,764 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $902,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $243.45 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $251.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.95. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $164.16 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The firm has a market cap of $142.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, 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 current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PGR. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. TD Cowen increased their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.00.

Progressive Company 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.