Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $6.96 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,031 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,088 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 2.3% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,956,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.24.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $235.84 on Tuesday. The stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $251.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.78. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $166.92 and a 1 year high of $270.62.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid 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 currently 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s 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 $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.