The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 352,849 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 396 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $84,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $580,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 55.3% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after purchasing an additional 1,687 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Progressive by 112.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $257.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $269.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total value of $2,759,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,199,142.56. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $280.29.

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.