Graypoint LLC Reduces Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Graypoint LLC decreased its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,680 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $235.57 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $164.98 and a twelve month high of $270.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $251.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.24.

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.