The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 7.1%, selling 15,768 shares and holding 207,230 shares worth $58.6 million by the end of the quarter.
• Insider selling activity includes CEO Susan Patricia Griffith selling 30,660 shares for approximately $7.4 million, which marks a 5.70% decrease in her holdings.
• Analysts have set a range of price targets for Progressive, with UBS Group lowering their target from $280 to $268, while the average price target is now $284.18 following recent evaluations.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lowered its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 207,230 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,768 shares during the quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $58,648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 164.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 2,055 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 5,255 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,147 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,911,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup started coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $312.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $337,299.10. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,958,001.74. The trade was a 4.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,351 shares of company stock worth $27,003,746 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $246.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,316,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,232,993. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $250.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $144.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.