Cullen Investment Group LTD. Reduces Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. trimmed its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % 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 valued at $8,222,168 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $235.84 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $166.92 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $138.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $251.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $241.78.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.24.

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.