HighTower Advisors LLC Has $47.06 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1.8%, now holding $47.06 million worth of shares after a sale of 3,102 shares.
• Progressive reported $4.88 earnings per share for the recent quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $20.08 billion, although slightly below consensus expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.2% and a payout ratio of 2.25%.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,265 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,102 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $47,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $249.06 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $146.00 billion, a PE ratio of 14.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $254.36 and a 200-day moving average of $266.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $226.52 and a 52-week high of $292.99. 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 return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. 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 prior year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Progressive in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $312.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI downgraded Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at $56,832,701.76. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $552,814.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 47,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive 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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