The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Equitable Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth $214,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth $915,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 35.3% in the third quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 30.8% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 57,131 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,498,000 after buying an additional 13,453 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.5% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,748,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $278.74 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $255.01 and a 200-day moving average of $253.08. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $195.43 and a 52-week high of $287.49. The company has a market cap of $163.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC downgraded 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 boosted 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.59.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.