Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Trims Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,460,259 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 341,139 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 2.5% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned approximately 0.25% of Progressive worth $349,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% in 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 during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value 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 approximately $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were 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. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $17,250,271. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE:PGR traded down $3.35 on Wednesday, reaching $280.94. 1,189,321 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,583,274. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $266.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.35. The company has a market capitalization of $164.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on PGR. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.