Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Sells 435 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,550 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 435 shares during the quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Progressive by 1,086.6% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,827 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,202,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 16,322 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Syon Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 10,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,658,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total value of $1,439,833.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,600,400.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total value of $1,439,833.18. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,600,400.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 9,512 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.50, for a total value of $2,259,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 45,787 shares in the company, valued at $10,874,412.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 116,441 shares of company stock valued at $25,111,350. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4 %

PGR stock traded up $1.03 on Friday, reaching $241.25. 1,544,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,539,333. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $130.27 and a one year high of $241.43. 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 company has a market cap of $141.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $217.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $262.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.41.

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.