iSAM Funds UK Ltd Sells 3,511 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd reduced its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 66.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,511 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,795,262,000 after acquiring an additional 583,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,498,363,000 after acquiring an additional 189,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after purchasing an additional 710,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Progressive by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR traded up $0.21 during trading on Monday, hitting $277.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,677,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,645,186. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $162.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.95. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.24.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total transaction of $344,787.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 28,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,978,433. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,384 shares of company stock valued at $11,711,495 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive 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.