Heartland Bank & Trust Co Lowers Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 142 shares during the period. Heartland Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4 %

PGR opened at $238.58 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $248.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.79. The company has a market capitalization of $139.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $175.50 and a 52 week high of $270.62.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,506 shares of company stock valued at $10,531,159 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.65.

Progressive Company 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.