Ascent Group LLC Sells 3,333 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 9.0%, selling 3,333 shares and leaving it with 33,818 shares valued at approximately $9,025,000.
• Progressive's CEO, Susan Patricia Griffith, sold 30,659 shares for over $7.5 million, reducing her ownership by 6.05% to about 476,286 shares.
• Recent analyst reports show a consensus rating of "Hold" on Progressive, with the average price target dropped to $279.63 despite seven analysts maintaining a "Buy" rating.

Ascent Group LLC cut its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,818 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,333 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $9,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.0% in the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,194,933.16. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock worth $31,997,390. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.63.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $246.10 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $245.14 and its 200-day moving average is $260.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Progressive Company 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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