Ascent Group LLC Lowers Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Ascent Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,111 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 2.7% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank lifted its holdings in Progressive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $268.88 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $149.14 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company’s fifty day moving average is $254.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.65.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. This represents a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.81.

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.