J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 1,993 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,631 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,993 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Progressive were worth $3,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,935,250. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 43,749 shares of company stock worth $11,786,613. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $265.11. 1,826,933 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,632,437. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $274.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.15. 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 one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $155.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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.