The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,623 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,847 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 109.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $1,005,116.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,821,329.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 44,629 shares of company stock worth $8,348,176. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $208.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,818,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,575,025. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $111.41 and a twelve month high of $212.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $197.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.59.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

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.