Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Sells 1,004,473 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership reduced its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,971,869 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,004,473 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 1.4% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.68% of Progressive worth $951,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 67.1% in the third quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 2,788 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 1,120 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 20.1% in the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,001 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 541.2% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 638.4% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 3,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Associated Banc Corp purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth $223,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $272.49 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $264.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.49. The company has a market capitalization of $159.74 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,370 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,084.80. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $16,877,471. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

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.