Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Sells 14,453 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 38.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,387 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 14,453 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,289,037,000 after purchasing an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 61.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Progressive by 15.2% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,338,556,000 after buying an additional 1,091,828 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in 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 worth $1,805,642,000 after buying an additional 396,567 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,473,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of PGR opened at $217.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $199.90 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $252.14.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 30,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,356,934.80. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 58,500 shares of company stock worth $14,430,089 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 target price on shares of Progressive and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $246.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.90.

About Progressive

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.