Argent Capital Management LLC Has $91.35 Million Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 0.9% in Q2, now holding 342,308 shares worth approximately $91.35 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions, with the State of Alaska Department of Revenue increasing its holdings by 2.7% in the first quarter.
• Progressive has been the subject of multiple analyst ratings downgrades, with the average target price now at $279.31 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

Argent Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 0.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 342,308 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,957 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up approximately 2.6% of Argent Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Argent Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Progressive worth $91,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma bought a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its holdings in Progressive by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 414,183 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $117,218,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares during the last quarter. Belmont Capital LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $580,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after purchasing an additional 33,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $347.00 to $343.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $265.00 price target (down previously from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. Six research 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 stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.31.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares in the company, valued at $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 140,045 shares of company stock worth $34,635,290. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $241.26 on Tuesday. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $245.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $262.95. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $141.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.

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