Tortoise Investment Management LLC Sells 1,165 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Tortoise Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 3.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,457 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,165 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,466,664.72. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $595,932.84. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 26,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,654,209.52. This trade represents a 8.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,351 shares of company stock valued at $27,003,746 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $245.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $143.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $250.25 and a 200-day moving average of $266.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $312.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.18.

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.