Prospector Partners LLC Sells 37,254 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Prospector Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 32.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,150 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 37,254 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 2.1% of Prospector Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $18,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR traded up $2.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $275.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,211,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,655,044. The company has a market capitalization of $161.79 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. 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 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $271.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.07.

Remove Ads

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Barclays raised their target price on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $317.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $288.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $281.59.

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.