The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Lessened by Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lessened its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,527 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 542 shares during the period. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,002,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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. Insiders sold a total of 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.24.

Progressive Trading Up 1.3 %

Progressive stock opened at $245.57 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $250.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $242.01. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $166.92 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.85, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 (DPR) is currently 2.91%.

About Progressive

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.