London Co. of Virginia Sells 96,822 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

London Co. of Virginia lowered its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,873,532 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 96,822 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 2.5% of London Co. of Virginia's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. London Co. of Virginia owned approximately 0.32% of Progressive worth $448,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $192,000. HBW Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,038 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 127,016 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,434,000 after purchasing an additional 7,710 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,546 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $145,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.65.

Progressive Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of PGR traded down $4.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $278.33. 2,421,739 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,639,016. The company has a market capitalization of $163.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $275.14 and a 200 day moving average of $261.00. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was 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 owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. This trade represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.