Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

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 second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,165 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 7,806 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up about 3.0% of Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,780,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Group raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE PGR traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $242.26. The company had a trading volume of 4,778,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,433,152. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $228.54 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $142.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm's 50 day moving average is $245.83 and its 200 day moving average is $263.47.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.44.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,194,933.16. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,062 shares of company stock worth $32,217,635 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.