Prospector Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Prospector Partners LLC lowered its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 60.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,290 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 32,551 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 10.4% of Prospector Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Seven Mile Advisory lifted its holdings in Progressive by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 1,531 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $689,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 58,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,423,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 698,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $158,971,000 after acquiring an additional 53,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $502,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $202.86 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $269.84. The stock has a market cap of $118.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $199.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $259.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,343 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,355 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.32% 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.