Swiss National Bank Sells 84,000 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,654,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 84,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Progressive were worth $396,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth 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 period. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its position in Progressive by 2.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Monument Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,298,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Progressive by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $277.52 on Thursday. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $197.77 and a fifty-two week high of $287.49. The company has a market cap of $162.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $256.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.50.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.59.

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.