Inspire Investing LLC Sells 1,734 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,921 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,734 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 1.5% of Inspire Investing LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $13,399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 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 $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,938 shares of company stock valued at $7,473,490. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.8 %

Progressive stock opened at $239.13 on Thursday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $169.57 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $248.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $274.65.

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.