Stonehearth Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Stonehearth Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the period. Stonehearth Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sachetta LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.00.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $2.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $242.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 775,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,851,751. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $162.35 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $142.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $251.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.70.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. On average, equities research analysts predict 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 given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

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.