The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stake Lessened by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 0.8%, now holding 284,787 shares valued at approximately $76 million, making it the fund's 12th largest position.
• Progressive's recent quarterly earnings report showed a miss on analysts' expectations, with earnings per share at $4.45 compared to the consensus estimate of $5.04.
• The company recently announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, with a yield of 0.2%, as the stock holds a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10.

Carnegie Investment Counsel lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 0.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,787 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,431 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 1.5% of Carnegie Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Progressive were worth $75,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake in Progressive by 6,350.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 129 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 1,885.7% during the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 139 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $220.52 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $217.20 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $129.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $241.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.70.

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). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $262.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $312.00 to $301.38 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $270.40.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 128,778 shares of company stock worth $31,683,756. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Company 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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