Central Bank & Trust Co. Lowers Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Central Bank & Trust Co. reduced its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,464 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 724 shares during the period. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,714,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,078,831,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Progressive by 14.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after buying an additional 2,666,449 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Progressive by 237.8% during the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after buying an additional 1,045,883 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $188,642,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 279.2% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 811,381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $129,237,000 after acquiring an additional 597,401 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,468 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,753 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $216.81.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $1.66 during trading on Friday, hitting $209.19. The stock had a trading volume of 3,950,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,324,754. The firm has a market cap of $122.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $217.77. The business’s 50-day moving average is $209.54 and its 200 day moving average is $191.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Progressive Company 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.