The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC

Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,965 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,776 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 0.7% of Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Sugarloaf Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $3,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 3.3 %

NYSE:PGR traded down $8.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.57. 3,692,238 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,536,604. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $164.98 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $251.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $241.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. HSBC cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.24.

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.