Venturi Wealth Management LLC Sells 2,215 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Venturi Wealth Management LLC has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 3.4%, selling 2,215 shares and holding 63,346 shares valued at approximately $16.9 million.
• Progressive has received mixed analyst ratings, with seven analysts giving it a "Buy" rating while the consensus rating remains a "Hold," alongside an average price target of $279.63.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.10 on October 10th, marking a 0.2% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 2.25%.

Venturi Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,346 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,215 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $16,904,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.63.

Progressive Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $243.77 on Wednesday. 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 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $245.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.32.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,194,933.16. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares in the company, valued at $10,532,802.60. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock worth $31,997,390. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.