The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp decreased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,837 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 988 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Progressive were worth $3,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth 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 raised its stake 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.65.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $4.59 during trading on Monday, hitting $269.60. 2,104,082 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,633,340. 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 Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $258.36. The company has a market capitalization of $158.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,749 shares of company stock valued at $11,786,613 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.