Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 19.5% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 279 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 7.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True North Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares in the company, valued at $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $246.10 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $260.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 1.37 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. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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.