Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,806 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd 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. Washington Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Progressive by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. 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 research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.00.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR traded down $2.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $239.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,117,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,982,721. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $251.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $140.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $162.35 and a 12-month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.