Marathon Asset Management Ltd Sells 18,547 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Marathon Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 11.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 146,891 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 18,547 shares during the quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $36,274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $194,557,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 56.1% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 2,642 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $227.15 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $133.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $222.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $238.98.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $242.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $253.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.98.

About Progressive

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.