Kensico Capital Management Corp Sells 5,700 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Kensico Capital Management Corp lowered its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 393,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 2.2% of Kensico Capital Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Kensico Capital Management Corp owned 0.07% of Progressive worth $94,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $103,990,000 after purchasing an additional 415,628 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,849,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 238,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,132,000 after acquiring an additional 68,589 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 1,773 shares during the period. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its position in shares of Progressive by 295.1% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $284.33 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $275.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $260.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.70%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company’s 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 approximately $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PGR. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.65.

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.