Pitcairn Co. Sells 833 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Pitcairn Co. cut its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 833 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $17,250,271 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $281.38 on Thursday. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.52.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently 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.