Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 3,329 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 72,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,329 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $17,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in Progressive by 75.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $379,139,000 after acquiring an additional 641,943 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $274.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $161.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $255.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current 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 $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.06.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 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 $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total value of $110,016.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,370 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,084.80. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,255 shares of company stock valued at $16,877,471 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.