Clarus Group Inc. Decreases Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Clarus Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,194 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 955 shares during the period. Clarus Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $249.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $180.72 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $245.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $246.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.