Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Sells 11,880 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,880 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 114.1% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its stake in Progressive by 1,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $248.13 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $179.90 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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 $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PGR. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Corporate 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.