The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Burford Brothers Inc.

Key Points

• Burford Brothers Inc. has significantly reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation, selling 5,005 shares and now owning just 773 shares valued at $206,000.
• Insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive, contributing to a total of 128,778 shares worth over $31 million sold by insiders in the last 90 days.
• Despite missing earnings estimates for the quarter with $4.45 EPS against a consensus of $5.04, Progressive remains actively engaged in stock evaluations, with multiple analysts adjusting their price targets.

Burford Brothers Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 86.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 773 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,005 shares during the quarter. Burford Brothers Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,062 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $820,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,583,000. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,080,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $325,624.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,356,934.80. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 128,778 shares of company stock worth $31,683,756 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays set a $271.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $274.46.

Progressive Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $225.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $132.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $243.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $217.20 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.19%.

Progressive 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.

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