Tortoise Investment Management LLC Sells 961 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 961 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,817,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Progressive by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 27,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,649,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 30,642 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,342,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 110,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,398,000 after buying an additional 17,692 shares in the last quarter. Taika Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $350,000. Finally, Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 12,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,072,000 after buying an additional 1,346 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $279.77 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $164.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $254.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $252.81. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $194.49 and a 1-year high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.59.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $14,102,075. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.