Donaldson Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 38,741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,154 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Progressive during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 450.0% in the third quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 11,687 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,044 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $198.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $116.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $205.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.30. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $197.92 and a 12 month high of $289.96.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $214.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.22.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.