The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Essex Financial Services Inc.

Essex Financial Services Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,357 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 118 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $256.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $244.86 and its 200-day moving average is $246.57. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $180.72 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

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.