The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,136 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,642 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,742,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after purchasing an additional 315,411 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,669,204,000 after acquiring an additional 170,618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after acquiring an additional 842,109 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $279.54 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $199.54 and a 1 year high of $287.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $257.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $253.68. The company has a market capitalization of $163.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.82.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.