The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Parnassus Investments LLC

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by selling 37,653 shares, resulting in an overall ownership of 411,589 shares worth approximately $116.48 million.
• Insider trading activities included notable sales from executives, with Steven Broz selling 1,345 shares and Lori A. Niederst selling 8,063 shares, indicating a decline in their ownership positions.
• Progressive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10, payable on October 10th, with a current annualized yield of 0.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 2.25%.

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 8.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 411,589 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 37,653 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Progressive worth $116,484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.83. 1,611,852 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,216,434. 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 stock has a market cap of $144.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $249.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.09.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,466,664.72. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $337,299.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,958,001.74. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 108,351 shares of company stock worth $27,003,746. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.