Primecap Management Co. CA Lowers Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,382,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 38,750 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.24% of Progressive worth $331,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on PGR shares. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $291.69 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $170.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $259.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.36. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

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.