The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Procyon Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Procyon Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 86.9% during Q2, now holding only 751 shares worth $200,000.
• The Progressive Corporation reported $4.88 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with year-over-year revenue growth of 12.1%.
• Progressive announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with the payout representing a yield of 0.2% and a payout ratio of 2.25%.

Procyon Advisors LLC reduced its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 751 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,983 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after buying an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 61.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Progressive by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after buying an additional 1,091,828 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after buying an additional 396,567 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $1,473,180,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $265.00 target price (down from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.44.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, hitting $242.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,778,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,433,152. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $228.54 and a 52-week 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $263.34. The company has a market capitalization of $142.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $556,230.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares in the company, valued at $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,062 shares of company stock worth $32,217,635. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.