Stephens Inc. AR Sells 3,987 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,987 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $250.64 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $180.72 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $245.80.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.71.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.