Ariel Investments LLC Sells 347 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Ariel Investments LLC lessened its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 24.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $217,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 119.6% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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. Evercore ISI increased 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,859,739.08. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 144,332 shares of company stock worth $33,362,904. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of PGR opened at $252.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $236.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, 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. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

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.