The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Argent Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management cut its Progressive stake by 9.9% in the first quarter, selling 31,897 shares and retaining 290,215 shares valued at approximately $57.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive insiders sold 74,885 shares worth about $15.9 million over the past 90 days, including sales by CIO Jonathan S. Bauer and insider John Jo Murphy under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $236.11, compared with the stock’s recent price of $211.50. Progressive also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.10, equivalent to a 0.2% annual yield.

Argent Capital Management LLC lowered its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 9.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,215 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 31,897 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 1.8% of Argent Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Argent Capital Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $57,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,267,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $476,895.82. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at $5,583,637.50. The trade was a 7.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,782,595.70. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.11.

Progressive Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:PGR opened at $211.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $123.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock's 50-day moving average is $211.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.05.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

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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