The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock: PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Boosts Stake

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,429 shares during the period. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators’ holdings in Progressive were worth $14,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $10,496,271,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,526,959 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,794,814,000 after purchasing an additional 656,249 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,682,342,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,538,570,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.4% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 6,784,205 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,482,010,000 after purchasing an additional 410,326 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on Progressive from $266.00 to $222.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $238.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Progressive from $252.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $228.00 target price (up from $213.00) on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Progressive from $233.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.45.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total value of $8,195,691.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 485,438 shares in the company, valued at $106,553,641. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.32, for a total transaction of $273,567.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,807 shares in the company, valued at $6,433,179.24. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,013 shares of company stock valued at $8,988,278. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $235.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $219.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.51. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $241.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.44 billion, a PE ratio of 11.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.22.

Progressive Profile

Progressive Corporation is an insurance company founded in 1937 and headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. It provides personal and commercial insurance, with a major focus on automobile coverage. The company offers auto insurance for individuals and businesses, as well as coverage for motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles, homes and renters. Progressive sells through independent insurance agents and directly to customers, including through digital channels. Its Snapshot program uses driving data to help determine auto insurance rates for participating customers.