Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 16,269 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 604,986 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 16,269 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.10% of Progressive worth $125,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $259.23 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $137.59 and a 1 year high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average is $234.16 and its 200 day moving average is $217.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.