Public Sector Pension Investment Board Buys 7,275 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 7.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 99,291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,275 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Progressive were worth $20,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $259.24 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $137.59 and a one year high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $151.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $234.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $217.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 approximately $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 143,654 shares of company stock worth $32,727,488. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

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.