Barclays PLC Lowers Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Barclays PLC cut its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 25.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,218,333 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 407,198 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.21% of Progressive worth $291,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.1% in the 4th 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. 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 valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $9.68 on Friday, reaching $265.45. The stock had a trading volume of 3,648,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,852. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $273.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $142,324.65. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at $969,024.07. This represents a 12.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,199,142.56. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.