The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 120,615 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,668 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up approximately 0.9% of Picton Mahoney Asset Management's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Picton Mahoney Asset Management's holdings in Progressive were worth $28,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Progressive by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $189,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 90.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 7.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Progressive by 2,262.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $103,990,000 after purchasing an additional 415,628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $283.87 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $199.57 and a 52-week high of $287.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $258.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $253.97.

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Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 research report on Thursday, December 26th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $281.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.

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