Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 9,950 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 89,191 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,950 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $21,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,650.0% during the 4th quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.59.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $273.13 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $248.63 and its 200-day moving average is $250.30. 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 company has a market cap of $160.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $186.94 and a twelve month high of $280.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.