Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 4,851 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 12.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,851 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 2.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’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 $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,247.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:PGR traded up $3.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $255.36. The stock had a trading volume of 1,951,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,230. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.69 and its 200-day moving average is $221.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $149.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $141.73 and a one year high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PGR. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

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.