Rational Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Rational Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 64.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,150 shares during the quarter. Rational Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFC Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $799,000. Greater Midwest Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Freedom Day Solutions LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 285.6% in the 1st quarter. Freedom Day Solutions LLC now owns 13,821 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,911,000 after acquiring an additional 10,237 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 7,585 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,919 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 149,934 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,433,000 after acquiring an additional 21,241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,451,160.43. This represents a 16.69% 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, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,289 shares in the company, valued at $10,750,829.82. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Progressive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.41.

Progressive Trading Down 1.8%

Progressive stock opened at $244.77 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $208.13 and a one year high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $143.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $271.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $265.58.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.70%.

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.

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