Altfest L J & Co. Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Altfest L J & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 24.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 963 shares during the period. Altfest L J & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.4 %

Progressive stock traded up $0.84 during trading on Thursday, hitting $206.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 840,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,468,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $188.82 and its 200 day moving average is $167.00. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $208.19.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 6.28%. The firm had revenue of $16.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 9.82 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.92%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $196,334.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,098.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $2,127,228.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,570,485.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $196,334.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,098.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,949 shares of company stock worth $10,671,740. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Raymond James lowered Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $184.50.

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.