Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 58 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,777,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $255.17 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $233.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. 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 fifty-two week low of $137.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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 given 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 yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive 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 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 available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 9,512 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.50, for a total value of $2,259,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 45,787 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,874,412.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HSBC raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays assumed coverage on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.