Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 4,851 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Wright Investors Service Inc. reduced its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 33,119 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 4,851 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 2.2% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HBW Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $249,000. MRA Advisory Group boosted its position in Progressive by 45.4% in the third quarter. MRA Advisory Group now owns 2,258 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 705 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 206.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $222,207,000 after buying an additional 590,235 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 119,306 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,275,000 after buying an additional 7,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 26,784 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,247.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America upped their target price on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

Progressive Trading Up 1.2 %

PGR stock traded up $3.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $255.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,951,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,503,230. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $141.73 and a 12 month high of $260.46. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $241.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.03. The company has a market cap of $149.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 currently 4.09%.

About Progressive

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.