Nvest Financial LLC Sells 108 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Nvest Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,102 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 108 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 1.3% of Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,703,318,000 after acquiring an additional 285,070 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Progressive by 15.7% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after acquiring an additional 670,006 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,022,507,000 after purchasing an additional 92,212 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Progressive by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,885,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $778,199,000 after purchasing an additional 19,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,577,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,861,000 after acquiring an additional 86,686 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.53.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,247.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $0.04 on Friday, reaching $251.74. 455,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,484,739. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. 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 one year low of $142.87 and a one year high of $260.46. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $244.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.14.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.42%.

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.