The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has decreased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 23.4% during the first quarter, reducing its holdings to 35,562 shares valued at approximately $10 million.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue fell short at $20.08 billion compared to the predicted $20.39 billion.
• The company recently declared a dividend of $0.10 per share, resulting in a dividend yield of 0.15% and a payout ratio of 2.25%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 23.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,562 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 10,862 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $10,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $250,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 4,120 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Progressive Stock Up 0.7%

NYSE:PGR traded up $1.70 on Thursday, hitting $243.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,038,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,268,233. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $261.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $265.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.34. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $208.13 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $142.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.