Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 86 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 29,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 86 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,021,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 16.5% in 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 during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management grew its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in Progressive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $282.02 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $186.94 and a 12-month high of $282.40. The company has a market capitalization of $165.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average of $250.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $250.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,361 shares of company stock valued at $11,302,675. 0.34% of the stock is 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.