Perpetual Ltd Lowers Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 346,477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 37,000 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd owned about 0.06% of Progressive worth $83,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 2.7% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 4.6% during the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $243.79 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $166.92 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $142.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $250.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.71.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.24.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,938 shares of company stock valued at $7,473,490 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.