Diversified Enterprises LLC Sells 266 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Diversified Enterprises LLC lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,208 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 266 shares during the quarter. Diversified Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $589,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,473,180,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. C WorldWide Group Holding A S grew its position in Progressive by 12,110.3% during the first quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 1,248,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $353,374,000 after acquiring an additional 1,238,402 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.2% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,338,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,828 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter worth $194,557,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $243.46 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $279.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,356,934.80. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 140,045 shares of company stock valued at $34,635,290. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.