The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Checchi Capital Advisers LLC

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,253 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 286 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 18,371 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,662,000 after purchasing an additional 1,789 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Progressive by 113.8% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $824,000 after buying an additional 1,728 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth about $244,000. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.2 %

Progressive stock opened at $278.62 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $186.94 and a 1-year high of $279.93. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $250.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.59.

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.