Park Avenue Securities LLC Sells 5,855 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Park Avenue Securities LLC lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,841 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,855 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,500,146,000 after purchasing an additional 151,240 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after purchasing an additional 78,374 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Progressive by 78.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Progressive by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America kept a “buy” rating and, despite trimming its target slightly to $305, still implies substantial upside — a supporting factor for the stock. Progressive had its price target lowered by Bank of America Corporation from $308.00 to $305.00
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target to $217 and maintained an “equal weight” view, a modest positive signal that offsets some downgrades. Wells Fargo raised its price target on Progressive
• Neutral Sentiment: Progressive is getting increased attention from retail and news platforms; Zacks flagged PGR as a “trending” stock, which can drive short-term volume and volatility but doesn’t change fundamentals. The Progressive Corporation (PGR) Is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent media noted intraday moves in PGR (short-term price swings); useful for traders but not necessarily indicative of a lasting trend. Progressive (PGR) stock moves -1.29%: What you should know
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho cut its target to $223 and moved to “neutral,” trimming upside expectations and applying downward pressure. Progressive had its price target lowered by Mizuho from $235.00 to $223.00
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays downgraded PGR from “strong-buy” to “hold,” reducing buy-side conviction and potentially limiting near-term gains. Progressive was downgraded by Barclays PLC from “strong-buy” to “hold”
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods trimmed its target to $227 and set a “market perform” rating, another modest drag on sentiment. Progressive had its price target lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods
• Neutral Sentiment: An unrelated biotech update (Zenas BioPharma) appeared in the feed but has no material bearing on Progressive’s insurance business. Zenas BioPharma Advances Phase 3 Orelabrutinib Trial

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,363,983.15. This trade represents a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,417 shares of company stock valued at $2,357,289 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair downgraded Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $216.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $259.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.72.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $205.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $120.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $206.07 and a 200-day moving average of $220.98. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $197.92 and a one year high of $289.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.08%.

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.