Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,013,823 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 158,850 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 0.9% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,680,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $103,990,000 after buying an additional 415,628 shares in the last quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after purchasing an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 238,250 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $57,132,000 after purchasing an additional 68,589 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 100.3% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp raised its position in shares of Progressive by 295.1% during the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $435,861.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at $75,759,663.84. This trade represents a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,084.80. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PGR. StockNews.com lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America raised Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.65.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $284.33 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.37. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

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.