Mount Lucas Management LP Cuts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Mount Lucas Management LP lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,058 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 435 shares during the quarter. Mount Lucas Management LP’s holdings in Progressive were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Equitable Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth $214,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth $915,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 57,131 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,498,000 after purchasing an additional 13,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE PGR opened at $279.77 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $254.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.81. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $194.49 and a 12 month high of $287.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $164.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total transaction of $2,799,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at $75,462,306.04. This trade represents a 3.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $14,102,075 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive 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.