Wall Street Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Wall Street Financial Group Inc. lowered its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 97 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 0.5% of Wall Street Financial Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Wall Street Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 118.4% in the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,874,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 328.1% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 110,732 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,000,000 after buying an additional 84,869 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 119,994 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,924,000 after buying an additional 5,556 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.2% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 20,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,350,000 after acquiring an additional 3,663 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC increased its position in Progressive by 98.7% during the second quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 2,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $240.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $169.57 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $249.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $242.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,938 shares of company stock valued at $7,473,490 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.65.

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.