The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $92.50 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 445,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,956 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Progressive were worth $92,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Progressive by 237.8% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after buying an additional 1,045,883 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 4,545.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $145,858,000 after acquiring an additional 690,060 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Progressive by 548.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $167,866,000 after acquiring an additional 686,433 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in Progressive by 15.7% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after purchasing an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $116,852,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PGR opened at $251.10 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.06 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $137.59 and a 12-month high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid 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 payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,384.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,332 shares of company stock valued at $33,362,904. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

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.