Scharf Investments LLC Sells 68 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Scharf Investments LLC lowered its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,475 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 68 shares during the period. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 143.6% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 7,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.25, for a total transaction of $1,525,567.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,357,996.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 7,361 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.25, for a total value of $1,525,567.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 35,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,357,996.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,518 shares of company stock worth $5,055,674 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $3.16 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $211.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,718,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,582,399. The company has a market capitalization of $123.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $209.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $192.97. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.41 and a fifty-two week high of $217.77.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.81.

About Progressive

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.