The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Reduced by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Patten & Patten Inc. TN reduced its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,109 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,997 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 2.4% of Patten & Patten Inc. TN's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Patten & Patten Inc. TN's holdings in Progressive were worth $35,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $379,139,000 after buying an additional 641,943 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 36,819.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,145,000 after buying an additional 566,656 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $8.59 on Tuesday, hitting $282.64. 3,440,990 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,396,095. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $294.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $281.76.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,495 shares of company stock valued at $16,668,034. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.