C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. Has $266,000 Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 37.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,111 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 657 shares during the quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,239,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,833 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive 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 in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,255 shares of company stock valued at $14,490,871. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Progressive Trading Up 1.6 %

PGR opened at $279.13 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $163.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $265.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

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.