Dudley & Shanley Inc. Sells 50 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Dudley & Shanley Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 84,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 3.1% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $20,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 13.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after buying an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 75.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 29,701.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $151,325,000 after acquiring an additional 594,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 206.8% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $222,207,000 after buying an additional 590,235 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded up $2.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $242.75. 653,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,866,673. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $251.58 and its 200-day moving average is $239.85. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $161.56 and a 12-month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 22,981 shares of company stock valued at $5,816,178. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.