The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Zuckerman Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• Zuckerman Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 15.1%, reducing its stake to 82,683 shares, which represents about 2.5% of their investment portfolio.
• Recent analyst reports have downgraded Progressive's stock price targets, with Barclays setting a new target at $281 and other firms adjusting theirs as well, indicating a shift in market sentiment.
• Insider transactions have been notable, with CEO Susan Patricia Griffith selling over 30,000 shares and other insiders collectively selling a significant number of shares, reflecting potential shifts in confidence from company leadership.

Zuckerman Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 15.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,683 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 14,695 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 2.5% of Zuckerman Investment Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Zuckerman Investment Group LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $23,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock valued at $27,003,746. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.18.

Progressive Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $1.59 on Thursday, hitting $246.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,316,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,907,152. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $249.97 and a 200-day moving average of $266.18.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

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.