Marathon Asset Management Ltd Decreases Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Marathon Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 186,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,185 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 1.2% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Marathon Asset Management Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $44,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in Progressive by 1,650.0% during the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive 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 $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $14,102,075. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.59.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $281.84. 2,485,532 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,634,508. The firm has a market cap of $165.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $252.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.11. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $191.00 and a 1-year high of $287.49.

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, beating 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%. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

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.