Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Cuts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lessened its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 506,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 50,853 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Progressive were worth $105,253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 11.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 10.4% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PGR. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $254.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $138.50 and a 1 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’s 50-day moving average is $240.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid 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 yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

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.