The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Position Reduced by Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance

Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance trimmed its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 62.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 950 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,605 shares during the quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance’s holdings in Progressive were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.41.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.79, for a total transaction of $2,637,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,150,450.96. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stuart B. Burgdoerfer sold 3,681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $958,642.83. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,181,673.31. The trade was a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 1.8%

PGR opened at $244.77 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $208.13 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $271.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.73. The company has a market capitalization of $143.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

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.