Vision Retirement LLC Sells 2,944 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Vision Retirement LLC trimmed its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 69.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,269 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,944 shares during the period. Vision Retirement LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive’s quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings cut Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. HSBC upped their price target on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.05.

Progressive Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:PGR opened at $207.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.50.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

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.