Shell Asset Management Co. Has $12.73 Million Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Shell Asset Management Co. lessened its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,124 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,522 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 0.6% of Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $12,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Progressive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Progressive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after purchasing an additional 710,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Progressive by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Roth Mkm increased their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.24.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 268,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,759,663.84. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $2.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $288.11. The stock had a trading volume of 1,825,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,640,809. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $275.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $261.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $168.90 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

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.