The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 36.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 49,246 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 0.9% of Summit Global Investments’ portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Progressive were worth $13,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 143.6% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $3.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $208.71. 1,184,840 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,602,363. The company has a market cap of $122.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.34. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $216.21. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. HSBC upped their price objective on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

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.