The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) is Inspire Investing LLC’s 6th Largest Position

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,229 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,703 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 1.4% of Inspire Investing LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $12,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 237.8% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after buying an additional 1,045,883 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 4,545.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after acquiring an additional 690,060 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 548.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 686,433 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after purchasing an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $116,852,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays began coverage on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $257.69 on Thursday. 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 Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $137.59 and a 1-year high of $260.46. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.38 and a 200-day moving average of $216.31. The company has a market capitalization of $150.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 0.82 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued 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 dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

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.