Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 16,956 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 64,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,956 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $17,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Progressive by 13.4% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC grew its position in Progressive by 4.0% in the first quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the first quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE PGR opened at $218.93 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $128.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $217.20 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $241.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,356,934.80. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $14,430,089. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on Progressive from $350.00 to $351.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $270.40.

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.