The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 68.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,354 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,256 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $828,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,156,939,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 32.8% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709,417 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,548,217,000 after purchasing an additional 493,332 shares during the period. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $117,057,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Progressive by 154.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 673,646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $179,769,000 after buying an additional 408,779 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $634,506.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,363,983.15. The trade was a 10.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,443 shares of company stock valued at $2,723,061 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

PGR stock opened at $201.44 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $197.92 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $118.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $228.89.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.29.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.