Prudential PLC Sells 15,760 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Prudential PLC reduced its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 15,760 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in Progressive by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Argus upgraded Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $204.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.87. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $283.95. The firm has a market cap of $119.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.03%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.