The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Crow s Nest Holdings LP

Key Points

• Crow's Nest Holdings LP has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 33.3%, now holding 100,000 shares, which makes the company its 7th largest position.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Progressive, including MEAG MUNICH ERGO which raised its holdings by 498.5%.
• Progressive's stock is currently rated as a Moderate Buy by analysts, with a consensus target price of $284.18.

Crow s Nest Holdings LP trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 33.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 100,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 7.0% of Crow s Nest Holdings LP's portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Crow s Nest Holdings LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $28,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Belmont Capital LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $580,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Progressive by 15.2% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,338,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,828 shares in the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $234,000. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $57,881,000. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 24.8% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,599 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on PGR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

Progressive Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE PGR traded down $5.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $243.76. 1,690,776 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,637,555. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $247.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.