The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Position Reduced by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 302,637 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 45,266 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Progressive worth $72,515,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 110,451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,465,000 after buying an additional 6,175 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Progressive by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,649,413 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $424,890,000 after acquiring an additional 225,837 shares in the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Progressive by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 1,027 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,054 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,651,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA now owns 6,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,741 shares in the company, valued at $6,935,250. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock worth $14,102,075 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $279.77 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $194.49 and a 52 week high of $287.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $164.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $254.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $252.70.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid 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 was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.59.

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.