Earnest Partners LLC Decreases Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC sold 127,512 shares of The Progressive Corporation, decreasing its stake by 20.3%, now holding 501,440 shares valued at approximately $141.9 million.
• Progressive recently reported earnings of $4.88 per share, beating estimates, but its revenue of $20.08 billion fell short of forecasts.
• Insiders have sold a total of 108,351 shares in the past 90 days, reflecting notable insider selling activity.

Earnest Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 501,440 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 127,512 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.09% of Progressive worth $141,913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock traded up $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $247.03. The stock had a trading volume of 2,408,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,845,707. The company's 50 day moving average price is $249.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.17. 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 $144.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 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 is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays cut their price target on Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,391 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $595,932.84. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 26,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,654,209.52. The trade was a 8.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total value of $1,557,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,402,135.52. This trade represents a 22.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock worth $27,003,746 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.