The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Bought by Monetary Management Group Inc.

Key Points

• Monetary Management Group Inc. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 68.4% during the first quarter, now holding 3,730 shares valued at approximately $1.06 million.
• Several large investors, including Integrated Advisors Network LLC and Pines Wealth Management LLC, also raised their positions in Progressive during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest with 85.34% of shares owned by institutional investors.
• Insider activity included significant sales, with Patrick K. Callahan selling over 6,200 shares and Lori A. Niederst selling over 8,000 shares, reflecting a decrease of 18.29% and 17.12% in their holdings, respectively.

Monetary Management Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 68.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,730 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,515 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at $6,742,703.04. The trade was a 18.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,556 shares of company stock worth $27,306,166. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup began coverage on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $312.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.06.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $248.9740 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $145.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $251.77 and a 200-day moving average of $266.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 payout ratio is 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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