The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stake Reduced by Tortoise Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Tortoise Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 3.6%, now holding 31,457 shares worth approximately $8.90 million.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88, beating analysts' expectations of $4.43, despite revenues slightly missing projections at $20.08 billion.
• Progressive announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10, which will be issued on October 10th, representing a yield of 0.2% and a dividend payout ratio of 2.25%.

Tortoise Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,165 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $8,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.0% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $247.03. 2,408,188 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,806,058. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business's 50 day moving average price is $249.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.20.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $337,299.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,958,001.74. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock valued at $27,003,746. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.18.

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.