Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 70.7%, selling 1,794 shares and now holding only 745 shares valued at approximately $211,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have recently increased their stakes in Progressive, with notable increases from MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft (498.5%) and QRG Capital Management (36.4%).
• Wall Street analysts have adjusted their price targets for Progressive, with a consensus price target now at $286.88 and a "Moderate Buy" rating on the stock.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 70.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 745 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,794 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,426,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 36.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after acquiring an additional 33,864 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 498.5% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 4.5% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,406,000 after buying an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded down $1.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $244.83. The company had a trading volume of 2,523,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,254,644. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $256.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.45. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $220.33 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $143.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on PGR. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $283.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.