The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC

Key Points

• 12th Street Asset Management reduced its Progressive stake by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,577 shares and leaving it with 52,709 shares worth about $12.0 million.
• Analysts are mixed on Progressive: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $238.11, while recent target cuts reflect some caution despite a few Buy ratings.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected Q1 EPS of $4.80 versus $4.67 expected and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable July 10.

12th Street Asset Management Company LLC cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,709 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 10,577 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 2.0% of 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $12,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in Progressive by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 3,928 shares of company stock worth $831,251 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:PGR opened at $199.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $200.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $191.75 and a 52 week high of $289.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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