Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors cut its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 29,053 shares and ending with 197,961 shares worth about $45.1 million.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.80 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $22.19 billion.
• Analysts remain cautious on PGR overall, with a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $238.11, even as the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 197,961 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 29,053 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $45,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $667,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,267,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $202.86 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $269.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Argus raised shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,355. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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