Shelton Capital Management Sells 62 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Shelton Capital Management lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 62 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter worth about $55,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $234,000. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 47,631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,087,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. Finally, Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its stake in Progressive by 1,480.9% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $969,024.07. This represents a 12.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $282.12.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $260.49 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $152.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.09, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

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.