The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 222,640 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,978 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up about 1.2% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Progressive were worth $53,347,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of PGR opened at $249.06 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $179.90 and a twelve month high of $270.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.91. The company has a market cap of $145.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.71.

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.