The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Factory Mutual Insurance Co.

Factory Mutual Insurance Co. trimmed its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,100 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Factory Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $22,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PGR. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.53.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $2.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $254.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,643,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,770. The stock has a market capitalization of $148.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 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. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $142.87 and a 52 week high of $260.46. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $245.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.59.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 974 shares in the company, valued at $213,383.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive 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.