The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 70,996 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,187 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $14,747,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Vision Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,474 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,668,000 after acquiring an additional 6,386 shares during the last quarter. Andra AP fonden raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 196.0% in the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 131,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $27,355,000 after purchasing an additional 87,200 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 4.0% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,825 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3.1% during the second quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 4,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE PGR opened at $249.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $145.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $134.34 and a 1-year high of $254.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.82.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. 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 (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 147,354 shares of company stock valued at $33,502,680 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Progressive from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $252.29.

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.