The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 213,942 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,914 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 1.8% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $34,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 109.1% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded up $4.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $214.69. 4,190,337 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,959. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $215.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $199.92 and a 200 day moving average of $175.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $125.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. HSBC raised their price objective on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen began coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.