The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Harfst & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• Harfst & Associates Inc. reduced its stock holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 10.8%, owning a total of 8,683 shares valued at approximately $2.46 million.
• Progressive reported strong earnings of $4.88 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and showed a 12.1% increase in revenue year-over-year despite a slight earnings miss in revenue estimates.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 0.2%.

Harfst & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,683 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,047 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 0.6% of Harfst & Associates Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Harfst & Associates Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 1.2% during the first 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 period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.1% in the 4th 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 worth $1,433,722,000 after purchasing an additional 915,643 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $247.05. The stock had a trading volume of 2,158,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,250,638. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week 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 firm's 50 day moving average price is $253.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.51. The company has a market capitalization of $144.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI downgraded Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction 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 owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 112,313 shares of company stock worth $28,349,549. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.