Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $6.12 Million Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 21.7%, owning 21,388 shares after selling 5,916 shares in the first quarter.
• Insider sales included Lori A. Niederst selling 8,063 shares and CFO John P. Sauerland selling 16,664 shares, indicating a trend of insider selling at the company.
• Progressive's recent earnings report showed a beat on EPS expectations with earnings per share of $4.88, while the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10.

Plato Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 21.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,388 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,916 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $6,119,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total value of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at $6,742,703.04. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE PGR traded down $0.51 on Friday, hitting $248.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,612,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,408,336. The company's 50-day moving average is $246.44 and its 200 day moving average is $264.74. The firm has a market cap of $145.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lowered Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.82.

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.