The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by AlphaQuest LLC

AlphaQuest LLC lessened its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,546 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,360 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at $2,156,939,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,548,217,000 after acquiring an additional 493,332 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $117,057,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Progressive by 154.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 673,646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $179,769,000 after acquiring an additional 408,779 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $634,506.75. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,363,983.15. This trade represents a 10.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total value of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 13,788 shares of company stock valued at $3,018,961 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE PGR opened at $202.41 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $217.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.34. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $197.92 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $118.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $252.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.29.

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.