PB Investment Partners L.P. Sells 11,959 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

PB Investment Partners L.P. trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,856 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,959 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 12.0% of PB Investment Partners L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. PB Investment Partners L.P.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $16,019,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Progressive by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $379,139,000 after buying an additional 641,943 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 29,701.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $151,325,000 after buying an additional 594,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 206.8% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $222,207,000 after buying an additional 590,235 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4 %

PGR traded down $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $238.58. 2,324,216 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,062,021. 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 Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $175.50 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The stock's 50-day moving average is $248.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $243.55. The stock has a market cap of $139.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.17%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $234,044.98. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,463,329.23. This represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,506 shares of company stock worth $10,531,159 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. HSBC cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $274.65.

About Progressive

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.