Avalon Trust Co Reduces Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Avalon Trust Co lessened its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 31.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 115,890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 53,983 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 2.0% of Avalon Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Progressive were worth $27,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in shares of Progressive by 24.9% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 65,471 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $16,614,000 after buying an additional 13,047 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Progressive by 9.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 89,358 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $22,675,000 after buying an additional 7,797 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 33.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 60,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,236,000 after buying an additional 14,885 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 0.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 746,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,309,000 after buying an additional 2,610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Paragon Advisors LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 0.8% in the third quarter. Paragon Advisors LLC now owns 16,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,146,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays increased their target price on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Progressive Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE PGR opened at $283.87 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $287.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $258.14 and its 200 day moving average is $254.03.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

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.