The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Stock Holdings Reduced by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc lessened its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 125,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,968 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 1.2% of Vestcor Inc's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Progressive were worth $35,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,426,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after purchasing an additional 33,864 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its position in shares of Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,406,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32. Following the sale, the insider owned 47,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $795,324.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 37,977 shares in the company, valued at $9,465,387.48. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $1.06 on Friday, hitting $240.98. 3,201,172 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,286,200. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $260.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.01. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $208.13 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) 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. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 15.0%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

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.