The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,171,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 24,681 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Progressive were worth $949,918,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in Progressive by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $199.28 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $191.75 and a fifty-two week high of $289.96. The firm has a market cap of $116.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $200.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research raised Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $247.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,667 shares of company stock valued at $981,453. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive 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.