The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,662 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 85,155 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,862,000 after purchasing an additional 2,452 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Progressive by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 68,634 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,561,000 after purchasing an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 128,982 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,967,000 after purchasing an additional 5,164 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $294,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 16,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after purchasing an additional 6,877 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $208.72. The stock had a trading volume of 2,149,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,608,130. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.25. The company has a market capitalization of $122.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.34. 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 Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $111.41 and a 1 year high of $216.21.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.88.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’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 transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.