New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 791,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Progressive worth $189,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 70,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $17,876,000 after purchasing an additional 9,114 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 34.8% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,434 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $364,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.1% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 1,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $880,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 4,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $263.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $248.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $186.94 and a 52-week high of $270.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays lifted their target price on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’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 $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company 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.