The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC

Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,303 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 348 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 1.1% of Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 315,411 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,498,363,000 after acquiring an additional 189,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $1,843,045,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $234,044.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,463,329.23. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $286.78 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $168.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $268.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.73.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PGR. Barclays lifted their target price 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.06.

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.