IFC Advisors LLC Sells 125 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

IFC Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,698 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the quarter. IFC Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after acquiring an additional 622,590 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its position in Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Progressive by 15.2% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,828 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Progressive by 6.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,473,180,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $265.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.63.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,806.24. This trade represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $236.27 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.24. The company has a market cap of $138.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Progressive Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.