The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by New Mexico Educational Retirement Board

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board cut its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,875 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,679,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 90.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after purchasing an additional 330,667 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $103,990,000 after purchasing an additional 415,628 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,069,697 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $255,882,000 after purchasing an additional 249,958 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $262.71 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $186.94 and a one year high of $270.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $244.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $246.75. The stock has a market cap of $153.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS 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, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

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.