Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Sells 11,537 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB cut its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 77.6%, selling 11,537 shares and leaving 3,332 shares worth about $823,000 at quarter-end.
• Progressive reported mixed operating trends in February—net premiums written +5% Y/Y, net premiums earned +8%, net income +2% and policies in force +10%—but the combined ratio widened to 85.7 from 82.6, signaling weaker underwriting profitability.
• Insiders and institutions have been net sellers recently (insiders sold 11,417 shares, ~ $2.36M), while institutional ownership remains high at 85.34%, feeding short-term volatility amid a consensus analyst rating of Hold and a ~$240.67 target.

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB cut its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 77.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,332 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,537 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in Progressive were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 450.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 41.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 196 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Key Progressive News

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BofA kept a Buy rating and only trimmed its target slightly (from $308 to $305), leaving a large implied upside versus current levels — supports bullish investor sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target from $214 to $217 and kept an Equal Weight view, a modest positive signal from another large shop. Article Title TickerReport
• Positive Sentiment: Progressive’s February operating update showed revenue/premium momentum: net premiums written +5% Y/Y, net premiums earned +8%, net income +2%, and policies in force +10% — supportive for top-line growth and pricing power. Investment-related realized losses improved sharply. Company Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its target to $227 and moved to Market Perform — a cautious stance but still shows modest upside relative to current prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and valuation pieces (Yahoo/Seeking Alpha/TipRanks) are prompting reassessments of PGR’s fair value after recent share weakness; these may influence medium-term sentiment but aren’t new company-specific catalysts. Yahoo Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Progressive issued a formal February performance update (company release / TipRanks coverage) — important for transparency but largely reiterative of monthly metrics. TipRanks
• Negative Sentiment: The combined ratio widened to 85.7 from 82.6 Y/Y, indicating underwriting profitability softened — a clear profit-margin headwind for an insurer. Company Release
• Negative Sentiment: Data shows significant insider selling and large institutional shifts (notably UBS removing a large block), which can weigh on sentiment and signal portfolio rebalancing or concern from major holders. QuiverQuant
• Negative Sentiment: Market headlines note intraday stock weakness in some sessions (MSN coverage), reflecting short-term volatility as investors digest the mixed signals. MSN

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total transaction of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 141 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $29,892.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 828 shares in the company, valued at $175,536. This trade represents a 14.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 11,417 shares of company stock valued at $2,357,289 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays set a $247.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $216.00 target price on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, HSBC lowered Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $240.67.

Progressive Stock Up 0.6%

Progressive stock opened at $202.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $197.92 and a 1-year high of $289.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.44. The company has a market cap of $118.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.08%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.