Invesco LLC Acquires 127 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Invesco LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its position in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $251.28 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $226.30 and its 200 day moving average is $213.41. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $134.34 and a one year high of $254.83. The firm has a market cap of $147.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.72, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.19 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 147,354 shares of company stock valued at $33,502,680. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.24.

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.