The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 89.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,539 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 22,147 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. United Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. United Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares during the last quarter. American Trust grew its position in shares of Progressive by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 4,559 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 36,842 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $8,828,000 after purchasing an additional 3,016 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 837,917 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $200,773,000 after buying an additional 21,745 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.7%

PGR stock traded up $7.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $284.82. 5,075,017 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,648,942. 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 company has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.53.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given 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 payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PGR. UBS Group lifted their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.59.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total transaction of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 238,024 shares in the company, valued at $65,544,668.88. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.81, for a total value of $351,985.27. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,025,375.28. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,651 shares of company stock worth $12,017,780. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by 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.