The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) is Wright Investors Service Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

Wright Investors Service Inc. lowered its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,031 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,088 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 2.3% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $3.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $239.57. 2,256,733 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,567,313. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.23 and a 200 day moving average of $241.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.34 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $166.92 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. HSBC lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Company 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.