Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,834 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 393 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Progressive were worth $30,391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% in the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $248.99 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $246.28 and a 200-day moving average of $245.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $145.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $179.90 and a 1-year high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. HSBC lowered 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.71.

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.