The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after buying an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $379,139,000 after buying an additional 641,943 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 36,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,145,000 after buying an additional 566,656 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total value of $344,787.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 28,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,978,433. This represents a 4.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $283.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $258.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be 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 is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Progressive Company 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.