The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Bought by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Key Points

• Quantinno Capital Management increased its Progressive position by 35.7% in the first quarter, adding 92,828 shares to hold 352,606 shares valued at approximately $69.9 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.34% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate Progressive a Buy, 15 a Hold and two a Sell. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $236.11.
• Progressive shares opened at $219.97, while the company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. Insiders sold 71,386 shares worth about $15.1 million over the past 90 days, though some transactions were executed under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 35.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 352,606 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 92,828 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP owned 0.06% of Progressive worth $69,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,584,067,000 after buying an additional 593,612 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Progressive by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,398,123,000 after buying an additional 1,217,527 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,375,706,000 after buying an additional 1,092,151 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $1,836,094,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.11.

More Progressive News

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The insider transactions were scheduled in advance under Rule 10b5-1 plans, which generally reduces the likelihood that the sales reflect a current negative view of Progressive’s business or outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks analyst blog highlighted PGR alongside Intel and Dell. The item may increase visibility for Progressive, but the available report does not provide a specific new earnings estimate, recommendation, or fundamental catalyst. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights INTC, DELL and PGR
• Negative Sentiment: Progressive insiders collectively sold 56,156 shares for approximately $11.9 million. CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares, while Karen Bailo, Jonathan S. Bauer and John Jo Murphy sold 8,452, 2,242 and 8,124 shares, respectively. The sales reduced their individual holdings by roughly 6.7% to 20.7%, creating some near-term selling pressure and a potentially cautious signal despite the pre-arranged plans. Progressive CEO insider-sale filing

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE PGR opened at $219.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $254.93. The company's fifty day moving average price is $210.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.97.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 522,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $111,199,682.96. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,386 shares of company stock valued at $15,110,679. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Progressive

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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