Forsta AP Fonden Sells 4,900 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 2.8%, now holding 169,000 shares valued at approximately $47.8 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Northern Trust Corp, have increased their holdings, collectively owning over 85% of Progressive's stock.
• Analysts have downgraded Progressive's ratings, with an average price target of $286.88, reflecting growing caution despite a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 169,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,900 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Progressive were worth $47,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 1,863 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,271,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 47,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,949,064.08. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $246.49. The company had a trading volume of 2,118,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,590,031. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $217.91 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $144.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $256.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 15.0%. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PGR. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

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.