The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado trimmed its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 81,641 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,390 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Progressive were worth $16,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 4.1% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 26,369 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,477,000 after buying an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.0% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 37,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,859,000 after acquiring an additional 2,809 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 55.4% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 148.5% in the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 387,455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $80,478,000 after purchasing an additional 231,567 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,477,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5 %

Progressive stock opened at $259.23 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $137.59 and a one year high of $260.46. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $234.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.06. The company has a market capitalization of $151.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a PEG 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.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays initiated 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 on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total value of $1,439,833.18. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,400.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408. 0.34% of the stock is 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.