Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Lowers Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC cut its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 46.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,300 shares during the period. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,289,037,000 after purchasing an additional 622,590 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 61.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,362,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Progressive by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after buying an additional 1,091,828 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 6.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after buying an additional 396,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth $1,473,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $217.16 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $199.90 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $233.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $252.14. The stock has a market cap of $127.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $312.00 to $301.38 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 price target on shares of Progressive and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $269.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $325,624.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 30,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,356,934.80. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $14,430,089 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company 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.