The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by American Trust

American Trust lessened its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 17.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,304 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 930 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Progressive were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilltop National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $254.37 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $148.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.12. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $137.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,247.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,247.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

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.