The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 791,024 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.14% of Progressive worth $189,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund raised its stake in Progressive by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 19,548 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,684,000 after buying an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 3,965 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,128 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,126,000 after buying an additional 2,989 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in Progressive by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 17,741 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,251,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens & Northern Corp purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $222,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.12.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was 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 owns 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $1.68 on Friday, reaching $265.99. 2,567,348 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,505,890. The firm has a market cap of $155.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $246.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $248.49. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $186.94 and a fifty-two week high of $270.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

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.