Concentric Capital Strategies LP Sells 50,320 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Concentric Capital Strategies LP has significantly reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 90.7%, now owning only 5,186 shares valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• In contrast, other hedge funds such as Highline Wealth Partners and TruNorth Capital have increased their positions in Progressive, with increases of 114.0% and 210.0% respectively during the same period.
• Insiders, including CEO Susan Patricia Griffith, have sold a total of 139,010 shares valued at around $34.5 million in the last 90 days, indicating potential shifts in confidence among company leadership.

Concentric Capital Strategies LP cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 90.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,186 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 50,320 shares during the period. Concentric Capital Strategies LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.18.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $5.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $243.76. 1,690,776 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,637,555. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $247.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.56.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

About Progressive

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.