The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Position Trimmed by Lafayette Investments Inc.

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 3.9% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $15,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Progressive by 14.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,449 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Progressive by 4.3% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,754,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,291,249,000 after purchasing an additional 403,527 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Progressive by 10.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,916,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 655,706 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its position in Progressive by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,721,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $871,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,665 shares during the period. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $840,885,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $209.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,116,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,000. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $111.41 and a 1 year high of $212.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $122.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.57.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

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.