Fmr LLC Reduces Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Fmr LLC reduced its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,234,159 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 284,456 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 1.75% of Progressive worth $2,452,207,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,239,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,833 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,795,262,000 after buying an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total value of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $257.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $269.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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, StockNews.com lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.29.

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.