Madison Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Madison Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 349,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,401 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $69,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth $90,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 34,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,752,000 after acquiring an additional 4,833 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 14,882 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,950,000 after acquiring an additional 2,773 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,398,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $475,660,000 after acquiring an additional 147,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,698 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,923,000 after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $212.09 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $209.08 and its 200 day moving average is $206.22. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 over the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PGR. HSBC lifted their target price on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.05.

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.