Shell Asset Management Co. Sells 3,522 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Shell Asset Management Co. lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,522 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for approximately 0.6% of Shell Asset Management Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $12,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,210 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $290,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $372,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Pines Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $280.60 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $261.25. The company has a market capitalization of $164.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given 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 Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total value of $344,787.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 28,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,978,433. The trade was a 4.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total transaction of $2,799,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at $75,462,306.04. The trade was a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is owned by 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.