Woodline Partners LP Cuts Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Woodline Partners LP cut its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 96.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,752 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 259,755 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $2,576,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded up $2.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $280.17. 454,413 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,638,075. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. 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 Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The business's 50-day moving average is $275.52 and its 200-day moving average is $263.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,651 shares of company stock worth $12,017,780 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price 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 boosted their target price on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.59.

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.