HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 16.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 26,868 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $32,578,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 900.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 450.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $336,973.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 12,443 shares of company stock worth $2,723,061 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 2.2%

Progressive stock opened at $203.40 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $119.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.57, a P/E/G ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of $213.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $227.14. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $197.92 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. Bank of America dropped their target price on Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Progressive from $240.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays upgraded Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $257.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group set a $226.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $250.35.

Progressive 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.