Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 741 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Carnegie Investment Counsel cut its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 278,415 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 741 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 2.1% of Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Progressive were worth $70,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the company’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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $254.09 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $245.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.59. The company has a market capitalization of $148.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $142.87 and a 1-year high of $260.46. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. 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 report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $309.00 to $319.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.53.

About Progressive

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.