B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Purchases 4,717 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,717 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Progressive were worth $9,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its position in Progressive by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its stake in Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monument Capital Management increased its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Bank of America cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $300.00 to $287.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.29.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $23.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $263.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,836,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,602,347. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $268.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at $969,024.07. This represents a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.