Mather Group LLC. Lowers Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Mather Group LLC. cut its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 47.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,467 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,019 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,387,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Progressive in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $850,689.75. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 9,512 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.50, for a total value of $2,259,100.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 45,787 shares in the company, valued at $10,874,412.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $850,689.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $249.02 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $141.84 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $242.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

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.