Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Acquires 1,031 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,031 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank raised its position in shares of Progressive by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

Progressive Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $259.23 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $234.16 and its 200 day moving average is $217.06. 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 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 1 year low of $137.59 and a 1 year high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. Corporate 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.