Vestor Capital LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Vestor Capital cut its Progressive stake by 95% in the first quarter, selling 5,356 shares and retaining 280 shares valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive insiders sold 74,885 shares worth about $15.9 million over the past quarter, including sales by CFO Andrew J. Quigg and Director Jeffrey D. Kelly.
• The stock opened at $211.50, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $236.11. Progressive also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a 0.2% yield.

Vestor Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 95.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,356 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $769,780.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,370,900. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 74,885 shares of company stock valued at $15,880,459 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $211.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.26. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $211.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.05. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $254.93.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.11.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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