Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Reduces Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV reduced its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 38,553 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 229 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co grew its stake in Progressive by 16.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 26,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after purchasing an additional 3,864 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its position in shares of Progressive by 32.7% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 4,629 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $961,000 after buying an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 376.0% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,259,000 after buying an additional 4,787 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 2.3% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $765,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sargent Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 186.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sargent Investment Group LLC now owns 3,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related 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 transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,247.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $259.23 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $137.59 and a 12-month high of $260.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $151.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.06.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

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.