Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,941 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,663 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $3,628,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,090,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 66.4% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in Progressive by 90.4% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,354,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth $1,890,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $257.60 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $137.59 and a one year high of $260.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $234.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PGR. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,742,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,742,363.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’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 value of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 151,350 shares of company stock valued at $34,691,584. Company 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.