The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lowered its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,782 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $13,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in 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 period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 36,819.8% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $1.21 during trading on Monday, reaching $274.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,553,247 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,433,886. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. 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 moving average price is $262.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $255.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,855 shares of company stock worth $16,767,455 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.