Summit Global Investments Cuts Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Summit Global Investments lessened its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 36.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,330 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 49,246 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 0.9% of Summit Global Investments’ portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Progressive were worth $13,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $3.09 on Thursday, hitting $208.71. 1,184,840 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,602,363. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $203.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.05. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $216.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS 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 dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

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.