Freemont Management S.A. Sells 5,800 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Freemont Management S.A. lessened its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 89.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. Freemont Management S.A.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,381,000 after acquiring an additional 23,833 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp increased its stake in Progressive by 1,614.1% during the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,334,000 after acquiring an additional 20,338 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.4% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 91.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,892,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,865 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE PGR opened at $205.60 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $197.92 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $215.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.25. The stock has a market cap of $120.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $336,973.15. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,443 shares of company stock worth $2,723,061 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Barclays raised Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $257.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research cut shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $237.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $252.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve 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 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $250.35.

About Progressive

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.