The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Wambolt & Associates LLC

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 18.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,823 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 1.3% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 67.1% during the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $707,000 after acquiring an additional 1,120 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 20.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,490,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 7,076 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 2,953 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 541.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $274.07 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $262.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.19. The company has a market capitalization of $160.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business’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 $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. Insiders sold a total of 65,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,767,455 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on PGR shares. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. UBS Group upped their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

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.