The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 7.1%, selling 14,632 shares, leaving them with 192,051 shares valued at approximately $54.35 million.
• Several analysts have given Progressive a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy", with the average target price set at $284.18, although some price targets have recently been lowered by various investment firms.
• The Progressive Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, scheduled to be paid on October 10th, reflecting a 0.2% yield and demonstrating the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 192,051 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 14,632 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $54,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $1,473,180,000. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 61.4% in the first 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 39,285.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,046,037 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $862,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038,303 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 12,110.3% during the first quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 1,248,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $353,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,433,722,000 after acquiring an additional 915,643 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock worth $27,003,746 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $246.28. 2,316,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,907,152. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $249.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $228.54 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

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.