PB Investment Partners L.P. Trims Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• PB Investment Partners L.P. has reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 10.7%, following the sale of 6,936 shares, leaving them with 58,086 shares valued at approximately $15.5 million.
• Insiders at Progressive, including John Jo Murphy and Patrick K. Callahan, have made significant stock sales, totaling over $2.1 million in sales during September.
• Progressive's latest earnings report indicated a miss in expected EPS, with the company reporting $4.45 versus an anticipated $5.04, along with a revenue of $21.38 billion.

PB Investment Partners L.P. decreased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,086 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 6,936 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 10.5% of PB Investment Partners L.P.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. PB Investment Partners L.P.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $15,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Progressive by 6,350.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 129 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,506 shares in the company, valued at $10,532,802.60. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 130,045 shares of company stock worth $31,997,390 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 5.8%

PGR opened at $226.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $217.20 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $244.63 and its 200 day moving average is $258.89.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Barclays set a $271.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.63.

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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