Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 555 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,246 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 555 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Progressive were worth $9,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. State Street Corp raised its stake in Progressive by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after purchasing an additional 315,411 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,669,204,000 after acquiring an additional 170,618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after buying an additional 330,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 21.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.12.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $267.83 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $186.94 and a one year high of $270.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $156.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $246.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $248.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 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.