Picton Mahoney Asset Management Cuts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in 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 last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.76.

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Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.6 %

Progressive stock traded up $4.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $283.87. The stock had a trading volume of 2,223,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,388,837. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $287.49. The company has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $258.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's 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.