Makaira Partners LLC Sells 274,360 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Makaira Partners LLC decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 329,243 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 274,360 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 12.3% of Makaira Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Makaira Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Progressive worth $78,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $408,416,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Progressive by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,433,722,000 after purchasing an additional 915,643 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on PGR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. The trade was a 23.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,651 shares of company stock worth $12,017,780 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR traded up $7.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $284.82. 5,075,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,656,429. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $275.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $263.53. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Progressive Company 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.