Janus Henderson Group PLC Cuts Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,172,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 667,261 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 0.9% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,820,095,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,669,204,000 after buying an additional 170,618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 7.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,022,507,000 after acquiring an additional 92,212 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,836,218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $973,479,000 after purchasing an additional 39,675 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $263.97 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $254.08 and a 200-day moving average of $233.65. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $149.14 and a one year high of $270.62. The stock has a market cap of $154.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.81.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total value of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,384.69. This trade represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. This represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,839 shares of company stock valued at $4,038,065 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.