Artemis Investment Management LLP Buys 27,309 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 18.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 174,132 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,309 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Progressive were worth $44,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $249.02 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $242.33 and a 200-day moving average of $221.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $141.84 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders 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 currently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 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 value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.