The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 4.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 62,694 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,160 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Progressive were worth $15,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Family Capital Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth about $155,000. Joseph Group Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Joseph Group Capital Management now owns 15,919 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 2,663 shares during the period. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $75,000. Spectrum Asset Management Inc. NB CA purchased a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $497,000. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 9.6% during the third quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 20,530 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,070,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $213.01 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $199.90 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.52. The company has a market cap of $124.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced 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 net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total value of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. HSBC set a $259.00 price target on shares of Progressive and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. William Blair lowered shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $260.74.

Progressive Company 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.