Jacobs Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Jacobs Asset Management LLC reduced its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 25.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,500 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 1.1% of Jacobs Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Jacobs Asset Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total value of $110,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,302,084.80. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $284.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $166.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $287.65.

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.

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