Strs Ohio Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Strs Ohio made a significant investment by purchasing 400,890 shares of The Progressive Corporation, valued at approximately $113.5 million, marking it as the 29th largest position in Strs Ohio's portfolio.
• Insider trading activity showed that multiple executives sold substantial amounts of Progressive stock on August 22nd, with John Jo Murphy selling shares valued at $556,230.04 and Patrick K. Callahan selling shares worth $1.56 million.
• Progressive's latest quarterly report revealed earnings per share of $4.88, surpassing estimates, while revenue increased 12.1% year-over-year, although it fell short of analyst expectations.

Strs Ohio bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 400,890 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $113,456,000. Progressive comprises 0.5% of Strs Ohio's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Strs Ohio owned 0.07% of Progressive at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,645,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 80,052 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,126,000 after buying an additional 2,132 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $556,230.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 45,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total transaction of $1,557,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 21,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,402,135.52. This trade represents a 22.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.82.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $246.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.12. The firm has a market cap of $144.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

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.

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