Tweedy Browne Co LLC Has $5.01 Million Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Tweedy Browne Co LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the period. Tweedy Browne Co LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $1.81 on Friday, hitting $213.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 966,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,556,445. The company has a market capitalization of $125.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.41 and a fifty-two week high of $217.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $209.48 and its 200-day moving average is $196.71.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.09%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,742,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total transaction of $2,104,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,742,363.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 34,518 shares of company stock valued at $7,159,674. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.50.

Progressive 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.