Primecap Management Co. CA Has $297.50 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Primecap Management Co. CA lessened its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,432,280 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 24,460 shares during the quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.24% of Progressive worth $297,499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in Progressive by 237.8% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $236,650,000 after buying an additional 1,045,883 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4,545.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $145,858,000 after acquiring an additional 690,060 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Progressive by 548.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 686,433 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Progressive by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after purchasing an additional 670,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $116,852,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $256.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $150.12 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $230.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $137.59 and a 52-week high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PGR. HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $262.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $256.12.

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.