Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 323,878 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,472,929 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 323,878 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 1.7% of Brown Advisory Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.93% of Progressive worth $1,311,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Monument Capital Management grew its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.41.

Progressive Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $283.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,914,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,570. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $259.61. The stock has a market cap of $166.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. 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 Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.