Quadrant Capital Group LLC Lowers Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC cut its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,994 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,795,262,000 after buying an additional 583,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after acquiring an additional 189,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 67.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,951,899 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $946,915,000 after purchasing an additional 115,681 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $300.00 to $287.00 in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.29.

Progressive Trading Down 10.4 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $257.27 on Friday. The company has a market cap 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $269.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.74. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.