M&T Bank Corp Sells 2,746 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

M&T Bank Corp cut its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,577 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,746 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Progressive were worth $14,994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth 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. raised its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth 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 raised its holdings in Progressive by 1,650.0% in the fourth 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. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $14,102,075. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Progressive stock opened at $281.84 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $165.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $191.00 and a 1-year high of $287.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $252.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

Progressive Company 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.