Petrus Trust Company LTA Has $25.47 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Petrus Trust Company LTA sold 10,000 shares of The Progressive Corporation, reducing its stake by 10%, now holding a total of 90,000 shares valued at approximately $25.47 million.
• Progressive's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations with an EPS of $4.88, while its total revenue was reported at $20.08 billion.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a payout ratio of 2.25%, highlighting a dividend yield of 0.2%.

Petrus Trust Company LTA lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 90,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 2.4% of Petrus Trust Company LTA's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Petrus Trust Company LTA's holdings in Progressive were worth $25,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group raised its position in Progressive by 1.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.82.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the firm'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 $2,223,719.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded up $2.91 on Wednesday, reaching $246.17. 2,149,405 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,190,979. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $228.54 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $247.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $265.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 1.43 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 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. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis 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.