The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock Position Lowered by St. Clair Advisors LLC

Key Points

• St. Clair Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 3.1%, now owning 69,786 shares valued at approximately $18.6 million.
• Corporate insiders, including CEO Susan Patricia Griffith, have sold significant shares recently, with sales totaling over $34.5 million in the past three months.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with an ex-dividend date of October 2nd, yielding 0.2% annually.

St. Clair Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,786 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,235 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 4.9% of St. Clair Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. St. Clair Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $18,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Financial Group grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $248.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $145.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $246.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $264.68.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $344.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.82.

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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