Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,412 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 128,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,412 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Progressive were worth $20,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Progressive by 14.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,002,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,449 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,916,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 655,706 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,982,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $833,410,000 after purchasing an additional 162,916 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Progressive by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,641,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $785,814,000 after buying an additional 156,332 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Progressive by 31.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,781,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $666,004,000 after buying an additional 1,154,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $206.67 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $216.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $202.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market cap of $121.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC boosted their target price on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

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.