Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Sells 5,914 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 61.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,914 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in Progressive were worth $748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allstate Corp raised its stake in Progressive by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,136,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,447,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,807,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $411,506,000 after acquiring an additional 97,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,429,000 after purchasing an additional 9,017 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $205.78 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $120.25 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $209.23 and a 200-day moving average of $206.06. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $254.93.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 in the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.