Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 173 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,946 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% in 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. lifted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $274.57 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $263.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $255.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Roth Mkm upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,767,455 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.