Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 41,200 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Two Sigma Advisers LP cut its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,368,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 41,200 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.23% of Progressive worth $327,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its holdings in Progressive by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 238,250 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $57,132,000 after purchasing an additional 68,589 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp boosted its holdings in Progressive by 295.1% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 223,734 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $53,609,000 after purchasing an additional 31,390 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Progressive by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,813 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,922.70. The trade was a 23.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,384 shares of company stock worth $11,711,495 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.24.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $277.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,677,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,641,453. The firm has a market capitalization 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 Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The company 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, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.