Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $8.69 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Hartford Investment Management Co. trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 702 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the 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 $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $257.82 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $246.28. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $180.72 and a one year high of $270.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.03 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.71.

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.