Federated Hermes Inc. Has $41.91 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 64.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,303 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $41,906,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $255.46 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $229.54 and a 200-day moving average of $214.90. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $134.34 and a 1-year high of $256.74. The stock has a market cap of $149.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 0.82 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.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced 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 return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related 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 owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 147,354 shares of company stock valued at $33,502,680. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive 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.