The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Holdings Decreased by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 89.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hudson Way Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Way Capital Management LLC now owns 164,177 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,338,000 after purchasing an additional 3,838 shares in the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC increased its stake in Progressive by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 12,130 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,907,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 124.4% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 46,759 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,204,000 after buying an additional 25,919 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its position in Progressive by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 112,592 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,988,000 after buying an additional 7,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fullerton Fund Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $737,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51% 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, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded down $3.59 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $277.42. The company had a trading volume of 754,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,634,155. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $275.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.42. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The business 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%. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.24.

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.