The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Whittier Trust Co.

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. cut its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 75.1% in Q4, selling 35,413 shares and leaving 11,711 shares valued at $2.487 million.
• Progressive reported EPS of $4.80, beating the $4.67 consensus, but missed revenue at $22.19 billion versus a $23.51 billion estimate; the company posted a 33.47% return on equity and a 12.92% net margin.
• Insiders have been net sellers—11,687 shares sold in the past 90 days (including Karen Bailo and CIO Jonathan Bauer)—while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with a $238.39 target and the stock yields about 0.2% annually.

Whittier Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 75.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,711 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 35,413 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in Progressive by 30.2% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,381,000 after buying an additional 23,833 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its position in Progressive by 1,614.1% during the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,334,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Progressive by 91.7% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,892,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Progressive by 40.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,159,000 after buying an additional 4,865 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Progressive by 471.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,556,000 after buying an additional 18,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $202.69 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $203.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.69. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $192.02 and a twelve month high of $289.96. The company has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. The company's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.03%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,687 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,044. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Argus raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays set a $247.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.39.

Progressive Profile

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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