The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,462 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,732 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 1.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $46,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PGR. CMH Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $278,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department grew its stake in Progressive by 79.2% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 2,039 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,184,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,132 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 180,711 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,300,000 after purchasing an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.7 %

PGR stock opened at $243.79 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $166.92 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $250.18 and its 200 day moving average is $242.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $142.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,938 shares of company stock valued at $7,473,490 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.