Cullen Investment Group LTD. Has $2.15 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. cut 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 disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,983 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 293 shares during the quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.24.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $235.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $138.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $166.92 and a 52-week high of $270.62. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $251.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $241.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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.