The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock: ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Stake

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 126,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,581 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $26,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vise Technologies Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 18.7% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 30,590 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,823 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.8% in the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,151 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $653,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 329.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 24,521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,083,000 after purchasing an additional 18,809 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $246.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $252.00 to $246.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.32, for a total value of $273,567.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,433,179.24. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total transaction of $8,195,691.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 485,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,553,641. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 48,352 shares of company stock valued at $10,524,258 over the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $234.36 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $239.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $217.94 and its 200-day moving average is $209.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.01%.

Progressive Profile

Progressive Corporation is an insurance holding company headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. Founded in 1937, the company provides insurance products primarily to consumers and businesses in the United States. Progressive distributes its products directly through its website, mobile channels and call centers, as well as through independent agents and brokers.

The company is best known for personal auto insurance, including coverage for cars, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles and other personal vehicles.