Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Grows Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 11.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 11,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,480,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $407,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 128,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,574,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 3.1% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 13,090 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,707,000 after purchasing an additional 389 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 24.4% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 807,394 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $166,932,000 after buying an additional 158,217 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $6.09 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $227.44. 327,258 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,570,603. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $198.59. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $117.64 and a 12 month high of $227.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.18%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,742,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 7,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.25, for a total transaction of $1,525,567.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,503 shares in the company, valued at $7,357,996.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,742,363.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,518 shares of company stock worth $6,951,344 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, April 1st. Bank of America increased their price target on Progressive from $276.00 to $293.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.94.

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.