Fluent Financial LLC Lowers Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Fluent Financial LLC lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 16.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,349 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 662 shares during the quarter. Fluent Financial LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PGR. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4,545.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after acquiring an additional 690,060 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Progressive by 548.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 686,433 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Progressive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after purchasing an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $116,852,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 457.2% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 651,707 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,366,000 after buying an additional 534,754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $4,859,739.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR traded up $3.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $255.36. 1,951,766 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,503,230. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $149.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $141.73 and a 12-month high of $260.46. The company’s 50-day moving average is $241.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.92.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 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 analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. Progressive’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend 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.