The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Position Decreased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt reduced its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 79.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,380 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,400 shares during the quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,049,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 188.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. raised its holdings in Progressive by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Strategic Wealth Partners Ltd. now owns 5,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,350,000 after buying an additional 627 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.0% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,399 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 551 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $251.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.23 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a PEG 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. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $180.68 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company 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.