Engineers Gate Manager LP Sells 42,179 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Progressive stake by 97.6% in the second quarter, selling 42,179 shares and retaining 1,021 shares valued at approximately $223,000.
• Progressive reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $5.67 versus $4.64 expected and revenue of $23.61 billion, up 5% year over year. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to a $0.40 annualized payout and a 0.2% yield. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating with an average price target of $234.89.

Engineers Gate Manager LP reduced its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 97.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,021 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 42,179 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,496,271,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,682,342,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth $1,538,570,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth $1,098,838,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth $935,172,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $205.42 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $248.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $214.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.9 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.40, for a total transaction of $268,765.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,857,785.80. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori Niederst sold 7,339 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. The trade was a 14.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 105,557 shares of company stock valued at $22,715,077. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $234.89.

Progressive Profile

Progressive Corporation, founded in 1937 and headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio, is an insurance company that primarily serves customers in the United States. The company is best known for its personal and commercial auto insurance businesses and distributes products through independent agents, direct channels and digital platforms.

Progressive offers a broad range of insurance products, including coverage for automobiles, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles, homes and renters.

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