Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 43,851 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 72.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,050 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 43,851 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Aberdeen Group plc grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 477,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $117,322,000 after purchasing an additional 6,273 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA lifted its holdings in Progressive by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 6,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,551,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 8,416 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,078,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.1% in the third quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,523,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 35.6% during the third quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 2,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $640,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PGR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, December 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $252.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.35.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $204.43 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $197.92 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $119.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.98 and a 200-day moving average of $227.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $634,506.75. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,249 shares in the company, valued at $5,363,983.15. This trade represents a 10.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total transaction of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 12,443 shares of company stock valued at $2,723,061 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.