Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 330 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 109.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 143.6% during the 4th 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 during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $93,251.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,725,350.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $93,251.24. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 27,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,725,350.04. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $1,005,116.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,821,329.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,629 shares of company stock worth $8,348,176. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $207.02 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $121.25 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $212.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $197.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.59.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $208.31.

About Progressive

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.