Everett Harris & Co. CA Cuts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Everett Harris & Co. CA trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 31.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 146,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 65,995 shares during the quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA’s holdings in Progressive were worth $23,377,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Markel Corp lifted its holdings in Progressive by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 750,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $85,578,000 after buying an additional 29,750 shares in the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 0.8% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 49,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,595,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,081 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Progressive by 103.5% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $2,127,228.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at $75,570,485.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $2,127,228.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,570,485.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 58,949 shares of company stock worth $10,671,740 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $206.15. 2,954,476 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,487,203. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $120.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.33, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.34. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $111.41 and a 1 year high of $207.87.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 6.28%. The business had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 12.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Progressive from $188.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Progressive from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.50.

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.