Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $116.32 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lowered its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 458,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 277,847 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $116,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighVista Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $1,015,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth $19,778,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 340.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 37,685 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,564,000 after buying an additional 29,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth about $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at $7,626,840. This represents a 9.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,839 shares of company stock worth $4,038,065. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $263.97 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $149.14 and a 52-week high of $270.62. The company has a market cap of $154.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $254.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $233.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective 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. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.81.

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.