The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by Conning Inc.

Conning Inc. boosted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $240.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $228.54 and a one year high of $292.99. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $245.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Barclays set a $271.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $279.63.

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.