The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,651 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,132 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $2,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.8% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 13,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.41.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total transaction of $2,799,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of PGR traded up $5.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $282.79. 1,566,016 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,632,051. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm's fifty day moving average is $274.78 and its 200-day moving average is $259.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

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.