Ameriprise Financial Inc. Lowers Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 28.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 965,657 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 392,160 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.16% of Progressive worth $238,466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 88,878 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,718,000 after purchasing an additional 763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 97,414 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,996,000 after buying an additional 21,131 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $204.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $206.80 and its 200 day moving average is $222.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $119.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $197.92 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $226.00 to $218.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. William Blair cut shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $214.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore set a $230.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $241.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 141 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $29,892.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 828 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $175,536. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,761 shares of company stock valued at $2,659,420. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.