The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Dudley & Shanley Inc.

Dudley & Shanley Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 84,510 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,185 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up about 3.4% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $21,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded up $1.04 on Monday, hitting $241.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,813,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,496,530. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $156.06 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $141.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $253.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $238.18.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 13.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,161 shares of company stock worth $3,979,549 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.81.

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.