The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Patton Fund Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 87.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,002 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,929 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,548,217,000 after purchasing an additional 493,332 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,128,055,000 after buying an additional 301,371 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709,417 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,156,939,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $227.74 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $133.55 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $222.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.80. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $199.90 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $242.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $242.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.98.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.