Blair William & Co. IL Decreases Stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 4.0%, now holding 1,523,058 shares valued at approximately $431.04 million, representing 1.3% of their total portfolio.
• The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.45 despite a slight shortfall in revenue.
• Progressive has declared a $0.10 dividend which yields 15.0%, reflecting its ongoing commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,523,058 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 63,160 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 1.3% of Blair William & Co. IL's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Blair William & Co. IL owned 0.26% of Progressive worth $431,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during 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. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after buying an additional 33,864 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in shares of Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 4,212 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.5% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $3.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $244.83. 547,709 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,260,248. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $259.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $212.27 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.78, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $795,324.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 37,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,465,387.48. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.