The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Baillie Gifford & Co.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 67,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 10,263 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $16,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PGR traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $265.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,567,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,505,890. The company has a market capitalization of $155.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $186.94 and a one year high of $270.79. The company's fifty day moving average price is $246.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $248.87.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.12.

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.