The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lessened its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,880 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in Progressive by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank grew its stake in Progressive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $260,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $248.13 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $179.90 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $145.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

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.