Ballentine Partners LLC Has $2.66 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Ballentine Partners LLC cut its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.24.

Progressive Stock Down 0.7 %

PGR opened at $243.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $250.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.71. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $166.92 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,938 shares of company stock valued at $7,473,490 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.