The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) is Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s 5th Largest Position

Southpoint Capital Advisors LP decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 20.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 800,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 200,000 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 4.5% of Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in Progressive were worth $191,688,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Progressive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,480,677,000 after purchasing an additional 710,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Progressive by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,677 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.65.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $285.93 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $167.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $261.81.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.70%.

About Progressive

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.