The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 35.6%, owning 121,110 shares valued at approximately $34.3 million after selling 66,997 shares in the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including the State of Alaska Department of Revenue and QRG Capital Management Inc., have increased their holdings in Progressive, signaling a shift in institutional investment.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, set to be paid on October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 0.2%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 35.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,110 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 66,997 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $34,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PGR. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 36.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after acquiring an additional 33,864 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Progressive by 498.5% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4.5% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $265.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $283.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 2.5%

Progressive stock opened at $249.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $146.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $226.52 and a one year high of $292.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $254.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.21.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

About Progressive

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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