The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) is Weik Capital Management’s 3rd Largest Position

Weik Capital Management reduced its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 610 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises about 8.7% of Weik Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Weik Capital Management’s holdings in Progressive were worth $21,317,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,795,262,000 after acquiring an additional 583,376 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after buying an additional 315,411 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,843,045,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,239,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085,833 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $274.73 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.62. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on PGR. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $16,877,471. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.