The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) is Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Lountzis Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,855 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,337 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 8.0% of Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Lountzis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $18,894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its holdings in Progressive by 1,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PGR. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.88.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $269.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $158.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $186.94 and a one year high of $270.79. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $246.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Progressive

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.