Argent Capital Management LLC Has $54.01 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Argent Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,047 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,731 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 1.6% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $54,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 230.7% in the 4th quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 9,206 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,466,000 after purchasing an additional 6,422 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $213,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $655,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Progressive by 1,086.6% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 20,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 9,512 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.50, for a total transaction of $2,259,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,874,412.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 9,512 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.50, for a total transaction of $2,259,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 45,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,874,412.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 116,441 shares of company stock valued at $25,111,350 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $241.25. 1,544,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,539,333. The stock has a market cap of $141.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $217.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.17. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $130.27 and a 12-month high of $241.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Progressive 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.