The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC reduced its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 76,953 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,841 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $19,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,420,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter worth about $306,000. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 40.6% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 91.7% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,892,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the period. Finally, Wakefield Asset Management LLLP grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 199.0% during the second quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $214.97 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $199.90 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.06 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.17.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $237.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $260.74.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.