The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 58.7% during the 1st quarter, now owning 85,394 shares worth approximately $24.17 million.
• CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock for over $7.4 million, reflecting a 5.70% decrease in her ownership.
• Progressive's earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88 for the quarter, exceeding estimates, alongside a proposed quarterly dividend of $0.10.

Trexquant Investment LP lessened its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 58.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,394 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 121,446 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $24,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Next Century Growth Investors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 76.2% in the 1st quarter. Next Century Growth Investors LLC now owns 19,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,500,000 after purchasing an additional 8,402 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 38,058 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,771,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares during the period. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $457,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 45,730 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,942,000 after buying an additional 5,802 shares during the period. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 483 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of PGR stock traded up $0.92 on Monday, reaching $247.03. 2,408,188 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,806,058. The company has a market capitalization of $144.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The business's 50 day moving average price is $249.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares in the company, valued at $11,466,664.72. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total transaction of $1,557,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,402,135.52. This represents a 22.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock valued at $27,003,746 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.