ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,732 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises about 1.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $46,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,938 shares of company stock valued at $7,473,490. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Barclays cut their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.24.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $243.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $142.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $250.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $166.92 and a 52-week high of $270.62.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

About Progressive

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.