The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Cascade Financial Partners LLC

Cascade Financial Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,402 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 72 shares during the period. Cascade Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in Progressive by 81.6% during the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 64,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,521,000 after buying an additional 29,104 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Progressive by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. Miller Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $552,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Progressive by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 16,265 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after purchasing an additional 1,884 shares during the period. Finally, Sage Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $277.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $255.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $253.33. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $195.57 and a one year high of $287.49. The company has a market cap of $162.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued 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 yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by 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.