American Century Companies Inc. Sells 70,646 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.9%, now owning approximately 2.37 million shares valued at $670.6 million.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding estimates, while its quarterly revenue increased by 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.2% and a payout ratio of 2.25%.

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,369,619 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 70,646 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 0.4% of American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.40% of Progressive worth $670,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $3.6030 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $250.6930. 2,744,518 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,252,737. The company has a market capitalization of $146.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $228.54 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $252.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.51.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $795,324.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,977 shares in the company, valued at $9,465,387.48. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 112,313 shares of company stock valued at $28,349,549. 0.34% of the stock is currently 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.