Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Reduces Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 35.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,106 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PGR. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.2% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Progressive by 20.8% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 5.4% in the second quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Progressive by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $775,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Selective Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $538,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays upgraded shares of Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $257.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.35.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $205.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $215.35 and a 200 day moving average of $228.25. The firm has a market cap of $120.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $197.92 and a one year high of $292.99.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% 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 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.