Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,569 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 73,289 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $23,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $458,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,253,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Progressive by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 65.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 72,163 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,312,000 after purchasing an additional 28,636 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Progressive by 270.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 11,833 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 8,639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $250.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,496,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,484,150. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $146.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $154.38 and a 52-week high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total value of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,876,384.69. The trade was a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,839 shares of company stock worth $6,718,965. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.81.

Progressive 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.