Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 6,847 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,623 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,847 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $211,000. Donaldson Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 13,698 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,182,000 after buying an additional 1,596 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA boosted its stake in Progressive by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Mcdonald Capital Investors Inc. CA now owns 1,388,686 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $221,190,000 after buying an additional 11,765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $1,546,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $93,251.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,725,350.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $93,251.24. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,921 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,725,350.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,629 shares of company stock valued at $8,348,176 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PGR traded up $1.76 on Tuesday, hitting $208.35. 2,916,791 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,591,491. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $212.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company's 50-day moving average price is $198.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.08.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $208.31.

About Progressive

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.