The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Reduced by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 445,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,956 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.08% of Progressive worth $92,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $3,628,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $3,090,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 66.4% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 90.4% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,354,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth about $1,890,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Progressive stock opened at $251.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $137.59 and a 1-year high of $260.46. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $237.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.27. The company has a market capitalization of $147.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of Progressive 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. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,332 shares of company stock valued at $33,362,904 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.