The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Position Reduced by Osterweis Capital Management Inc.

Osterweis Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 145,016 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 24,606 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 1.6% of Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Osterweis Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $34,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in Progressive by 18.3% in the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 1,088 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 53,591 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,841,000 after buying an additional 2,204 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,096 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,576,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $9.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $265.45. 3,648,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,730. The company has a market capitalization of $155.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The business's 50-day moving average price is $273.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $257.86. 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 twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $289.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $234,044.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,787 shares in the company, valued at $8,463,329.23. The trade was a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at $75,759,663.84. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive 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.