The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 52,969 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,557 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $10,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $38,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $215.91. 3,085,022 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,604,933. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $121.87 and a twelve month high of $229.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $200.08. The firm has a market cap of $126.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 974 shares in the company, valued at $213,383.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total transaction of $2,546,584.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 312,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,978,003.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,647 shares of company stock valued at $7,417,765 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 10th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.94.

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.