Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,394 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $23,468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% during 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 period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,749 shares of company stock worth $11,786,613 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR remained flat at $265.08 during midday trading on Wednesday. The stock had a trading volume of 945,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,634,597. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $155.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $274.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $257.97. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.76.

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.