Avalon Trust Co Sells 53,983 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Avalon Trust Co cut its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 31.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,890 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 53,983 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 2.0% of Avalon Trust Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Progressive were worth $27,768,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays raised their target price on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $283.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $166.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day moving average of $258.14 and a 200-day moving average of $254.03. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

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.