UMB Bank n.a. Trims Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

UMB Bank n.a. lessened its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 431,917 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 963 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 1.7% of UMB Bank n.a.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. UMB Bank n.a. owned approximately 0.07% of Progressive worth $109,603,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $3,628,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,090,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 66.4% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Progressive by 90.4% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,354,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.7 %

PGR stock traded up $1.68 during trading on Thursday, reaching $252.44. The company had a trading volume of 269,826 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,487,487. 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 Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $142.07 and a 52 week high of $260.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $243.73 and a 200 day moving average of $221.93. The company has a market cap of $147.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.67, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during 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 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 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $259.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 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 value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 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 transaction of $4,859,739.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at $64,836,041.58. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.