Comerica Bank Sells 7,030 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Comerica Bank lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,507 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,030 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Progressive were worth $34,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,239,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,833 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $408,416,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Progressive by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. 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, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $287.41.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total transaction of $2,799,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at $75,462,306.04. This represents a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $282.11. 2,077,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,630,388. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $274.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.23. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.59, 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 quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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%. Analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.70%.

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.