AIA Group Ltd Sells 15,494 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

AIA Group Ltd lowered its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 139,933 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 15,494 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 0.9% of AIA Group Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $22,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. HSBC increased their target price on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.88.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $209.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,437,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,587,645. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.33. The firm has a market cap of $122.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.41 and a fifty-two week high of $212.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.09 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.