The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,086 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 1.5% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 109.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1 %

Progressive stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $209.37. 680,021 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,577,889. The company’s 50-day moving average is $198.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $212.24. The firm has a market cap of $122.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of Progressive 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.