Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the period. Octavia Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $209.12 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $198.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.33. The stock has a market cap of $122.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $212.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

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.