Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Increases Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 832,991 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,273 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 18.6% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc owned about 0.14% of Progressive worth $132,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $228,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $269,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. RDA Financial Network grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 2,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 42,506 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,921,000 after acquiring an additional 6,523 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Strategies Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 21,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,042,000 after acquiring an additional 2,316 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of PGR traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $210.07. 1,881,969 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,610,821. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $201.66 and its 200-day moving average is $176.83. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $216.21. The company has a market cap of $123.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lifted their target price on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.