Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 8,391 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 55,830 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 8,391 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $13,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,156,939,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,548,217,000 after buying an additional 493,332 shares during the period. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $117,057,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Progressive by 154.3% during the second 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Zacks Research lowered shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. William Blair lowered shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.29.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $201.44 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $118.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average of $216.67 and a 200-day moving average of $228.89. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $197.92 and a one year high of $292.99.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $336,973.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,443 shares of company stock worth $2,723,061. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive 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.