Tweedy Browne Co LLC Sells 6,305 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Tweedy Browne Co LLC cut its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 30.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,305 shares during the period. Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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. boosted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $283.44 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $266.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $256.15. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $166.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. 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 posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,759,663.84. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,255 shares of company stock worth $17,250,271 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.06.

About Progressive

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.