Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $32.20 Million Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,206 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,576 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Progressive were worth $32,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after acquiring an additional 641,943 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 36,819.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,145,000 after acquiring an additional 566,656 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,992 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,102,000 after purchasing an additional 518,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. This trade represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,495 shares of company stock worth $16,668,034 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.4 %

PGR opened at $274.52 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. 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 50-day moving average price of $261.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.84.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

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.