8,389 Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Bought by Ted Buchan & Co

Ted Buchan & Co bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 8,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,742,000. Progressive comprises 0.9% of Ted Buchan & Co’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in Progressive by 126.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $253.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $148.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $238.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.77. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $137.59 and a 1-year high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued 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 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.