Creative Planning Sells 37,762 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Creative Planning lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 38.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 37,762 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Progressive were worth $12,739,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,820,000. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 9.9% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 36,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,313 shares during the period. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 11.1% in the second quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,637,000 after buying an additional 787 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at $399,000. Finally, Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,466,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $254.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $137.59 and a 1 year high of $260.46. The firm has a market cap of $148.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.12.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $4,859,739.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays started coverage on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price on the stock. Finally, HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

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.