Lafayette Investments Inc. Cuts Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Lafayette Investments Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,425 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 3.9% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $15,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 129,043 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 107,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $17,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 185.7% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 99,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,832,000 after purchasing an additional 64,612 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $209.75. The company had a trading volume of 2,116,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,000. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35. 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 Progressive Co. has a one year low of $111.41 and a one year high of $212.24. The business’s 50-day moving average is $199.28 and its 200 day moving average is $174.57.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 11.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Progressive Company 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.