The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 3.4%, bringing its total to 80,474 shares valued at $21,475,000
• Bank of America raised its price objective on Progressive from $344.00 to $347.00 and assigned a "buy" rating, while other analysts have varied targets, with an average target of $283.31.
• Progressive declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with the payment set for October 10th, reflecting an annual yield of 0.2%.

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,474 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 2,661 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $21,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $1.08 during trading on Monday, hitting $241.26. 2,316,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,545,675. The stock has a market cap of $141.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $245.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $262.95. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down previously from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 30,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,356,934.80. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 140,045 shares of company stock valued at $34,635,290. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Company 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.