The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its stake in Progressive by 1,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $262.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $153.90 billion, a P/E 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 quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $186.94 and a one year high of $270.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.09.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.