The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 35.5% in Q2, now owning 14,165 shares valued at approximately $3.78 million.
• Significant institutional activity includes Vanguard Group increasing its stake in Progressive by 1.2% to over $15 billion, while GQG Partners lifted its holdings by 61.4%.
• Progressive's CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares for more than $7.4 million, resulting in a 5.70% decrease in her ownership of the stock.

Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 35.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,165 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,806 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 3.0% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. 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 note on Monday, August 11th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.44.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $1.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $241.09. 1,022,993 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,174,283. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $228.54 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $141.33 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.22.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $325,624.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 30,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,356,934.80. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 140,045 shares of company stock worth $34,635,290. Company insiders own 0.33% 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.