Investment Management Corp of Ontario Cuts Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 65.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 36,177 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 84.3% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,531,000 after acquiring an additional 11,770 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Progressive by 90.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,983,000 after buying an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its holdings in Progressive by 9.5% in the second quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 28,128 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,856,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth $981,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $262.61 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $149.14 and a 52-week high of $270.62. 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 capitalization of $153.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a 50 day moving average of $254.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.43.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.81.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This trade represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.