Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $51.18 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired 234,270 Progressive shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $51.18 million. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $5.67, beating estimates of $4.64, while revenue reached $23.61 billion versus expectations of $19.49 billion. Revenue increased 5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equal to a $0.40 annualized payout and a 0.2% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $236.26.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 234,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $51,176,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $76,260,000. Allstate Corp grew its holdings in Progressive by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,136,000 after acquiring an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $8,447,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at $3,025,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.40, for a total transaction of $268,765.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,785.80. This trade represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $217.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $249.83. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $216.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho set a $236.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen 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 currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.26.

Progressive Company Profile

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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