Jacobs Asset Management LLC Sells 2,500 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Jacobs Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 1.7% of Jacobs Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Jacobs Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its position in Progressive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. HSBC raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. This represents a 13.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,839 shares of company stock worth $4,038,065 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $263.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $254.08 and its 200-day moving average is $233.65. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $149.14 and a 12-month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.