The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Lincoln National Corp

Lincoln National Corp increased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 46.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,448 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Progressive were worth $708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $215.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $111.41 and a one year high of $217.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $206.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.34.

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 company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,976.08. 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 three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on 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 decreased their target price on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

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.