Patton Fund Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Patton Fund Management Inc. reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 41.8% during the second quarter, leaving them with 7,931 shares valued at approximately $2.1 million.
• Insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock for over $2 million, representing a 17.12% decrease in their ownership.
• The Progressive Corporation plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share on October 10th, with a current annualized yield of 0.2%.

Patton Fund Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 41.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,931 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,686 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Progressive by 28.0% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,469 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 43,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 140,045 shares of company stock worth $34,635,290 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of PGR opened at $243.46 on Friday. 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 moving average of $245.34 and a 200 day moving average of $262.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.32. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 2.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PGR. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.31.

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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