Eastern Bank Sells 3,472 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Eastern Bank decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 13.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,472 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded down $0.05 on Monday, reaching $235.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,775,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,420,304. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $251.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.61. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $166.92 and a 12-month 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 $137.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given 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 yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.