Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 329,907 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,171,329 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 329,907 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 0.6% of Alliancebernstein L.P.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.22% of Progressive worth $1,718,322,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 13.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,795,262,000 after acquiring an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $17,250,271 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $2.91 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $281.38. 2,708,981 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,588,992. The company has a market cap of $164.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $266.98 and a 200 day moving average of $256.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.