Meridian Wealth Management LLC Sells 169 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 169 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $284.95 on Tuesday. 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 of $251.13 and a 200-day moving average of $251.57. The firm has a market cap of $166.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $187.32 and a 1-year high of $285.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at $75,462,306.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $14,102,075. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.59.

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.