Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Cuts Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 8.5%, now holding about 3.56 million shares valued at approximately $1 billion.
• In contrast, other institutional investors such as Highline Wealth Partners LLC and TruNorth Capital Management LLC have significantly increased their stakes in Progressive during the same period, with increases of 114% and 210% respectively.
• Progressive has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, to be paid on October 10th, reflecting a yield of 0.2% and a payout ratio of 2.25%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lessened its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,557,011 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 330,085 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.61% of Progressive worth $1,006,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 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 transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $243.76 on Monday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $247.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.54. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $228.54 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $142.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.32.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.

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