Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $8.93 Million Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 26,458 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. PDS Planning Inc raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 2,489 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $230,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Progressive by 230.7% during the fourth quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 9,206 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after buying an additional 6,422 shares during the last quarter. Significant Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $4,485,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.5 %

PGR opened at $214.02 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $111.41 and a twelve month high of $216.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $201.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.