AlphaQuest LLC Sells 468 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

AlphaQuest LLC decreased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 38.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 752 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 468 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp lifted its stake in Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management lifted its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors lifted its stake in Progressive by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $283.87 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $254.07. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS 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%. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 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 $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.76.

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.