Guggenheim Capital LLC Sells 2,081 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC sold 2,081 shares of The Progressive Corporation, reducing its holdings by 2.7% to 76,329 shares valued at approximately $21.6 million.
• Management changes include significant purchases by Vanguard Group Inc. and GQG Partners LLC, highlighting strong institutional interest, with 85.34% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.
• The Progressive Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10, with a dividend yield of 0.2%, set to be paid on October 10th to stockholders of record as of October 2nd.

Guggenheim Capital LLC decreased its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 76,329 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,081 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $21,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,289,037,000 after buying an additional 622,590 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174,632 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,433,722,000 after purchasing an additional 915,643 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Progressive by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,447,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,305,262,000 after purchasing an additional 337,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $1,473,180,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.18.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock valued at $27,003,746. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $245.71 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $228.54 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.33. The company's 50 day moving average price is $250.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.35.

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. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend 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.

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