New Vernon Investment Management LLC Has $845,000 Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

New Vernon Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 89.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,525 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 31,521 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 0.5% of New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. New Vernon Investment Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter valued at $55,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter valued at $2,566,000. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Progressive by 2.2% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,054 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,044,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 55.0% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $402,000 after buying an additional 562 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Progressive by 99.0% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 1,645 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,749 shares of company stock valued at $11,972,513 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR traded up $3.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $279.48. 1,058,487 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,627,205. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $274.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $258.59. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. 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 research report on Monday. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.41.

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.