HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 26,868 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 26,868 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $32,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 900.0% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 450.0% during 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 last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair lowered shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, December 29th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.35.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $336,973.15. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $634,506.75. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,363,983.15. The trade was a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,443 shares of company stock valued at $2,723,061. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $203.40 on Thursday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $197.92 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

About Progressive

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.