The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Americana Partners LLC

Americana Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 26.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,239 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. Americana Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank grew its position in shares of Progressive by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 2,047 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded up $2.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $252.20. 2,817,633 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,536,695. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $221.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $147.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $131.87 and a one year high of $254.35.

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 return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.16 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $296.00 to $294.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.41.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,400.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,984 shares of company stock valued at $22,564,766. Corporate 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.