Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC Has $3.83 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,776 shares during the period. Progressive comprises 0.7% of Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $236.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,008,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,259,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $138.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.97. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $164.98 and a 12 month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

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.