AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Sells 195,485 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,215,042 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 195,485 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 1.9% of AustralianSuper Pty Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.21% of Progressive worth $343,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $287.63.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of PGR traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $246.48. 2,966,465 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,837,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $144.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $267.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.91. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $208.13 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.79, for a total transaction of $2,637,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,150,450.96. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,750,829.82. This trade represents a 8.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock worth $11,450,948. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.