Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 1.1% of Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in Progressive by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $286.78 on Friday. 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 Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $168.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $268.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $256.73.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $142,324.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,024.07. This trade represents a 12.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.06.

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.