Dudley & Shanley Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Dudley & Shanley Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 84,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 3.1% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $20,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 90.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Progressive by 84.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,531,000 after buying an additional 11,770 shares during the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management boosted its stake in Progressive by 9.5% during the second quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 28,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,856,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Progressive by 7.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cumberland Partners Ltd raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 116.7% in the third quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd now owns 6,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PGR stock traded up $2.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $242.75. 653,923 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,866,673. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $251.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.85. The stock has a market cap of $142.21 billion, a PE ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $161.56 and a 1 year high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PGR. Barclays increased their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.94.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,981 shares of company stock worth $5,816,178 over the last quarter. 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.