Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Progressive by 2.1% in the first quarter, adding 4,902 shares to bring its total to 243,762 shares worth about $48.3 million.
• Progressive reported a recent quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, which works out to an annualized dividend of $0.40 and a yield of just 0.2%.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold, with a consensus price target of $236.11, while recent target changes ranged from $198 to $308.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 243,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,902 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Progressive were worth $48,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 6,613 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $210,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Progressive by 20.7% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,663,827 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $528,077,000 after purchasing an additional 457,085 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1,544.0% during the first quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 31.1% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 685,457 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $135,885,000 after buying an additional 162,609 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $207.06 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.86. The firm has a market cap of $120.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $254.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.11.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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