The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by Employees Retirement System of Texas

Key Points

• Employees Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 16.3% to 70,017 shares (worth $17.29M), while institutional ownership stands at 85.34% with large positions from Vanguard (54.5M shares) and Capital International (13.7M shares), indicating heavy institutional backing and recent sizable buys.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed — firms like Barclays and Goldman Sachs are bullish (Barclays upgraded to Overweight, Goldman reaffirmed a Buy), but BMO and Bank of America have cut targets or issued cautious views; the consensus rating is "Hold" with an average price target of $241.94.
• Near-term uncertainty could rise after Progressive’s CFO, John Sauerland, announced retirement after 35 years and insiders sold roughly 12,761 shares (~$2.66M) in the last three months; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 (0.2% yield).

Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 70,017 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Employees Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Progressive were worth $17,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth $2,156,939,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 78.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $14,548,217,000 after acquiring an additional 493,332 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs and others highlight PGR as an attractive, defensive insurance holding given strong 2025 results and tech-driven market share gains; Goldman reaffirmed a Buy and a $225 target — a vote of confidence for longer-term investors. Goldman Sachs Names PGR
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and sector write-ups list Progressive among three insurers that can provide stability in volatile markets due to steady premium flows, underwriting discipline and higher investment income — supportive context for investors favoring defensive exposure. 3 Insurers to Bring Stability
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and equity research pieces note “moderating growth but intact fundamentals” for Progressive — suggests near-term growth pressures but that core profitability and underwriting metrics remain solid. Moderating Growth But Intact Fundamentals
• Neutral Sentiment: Two entries concern Progressive Planet Solutions TSE: PLAN reporting record Q3 revenue and one‑time charges to fund growth — this is a different company and unlikely to directly affect PGR’s fundamentals or stock, but it may cause headline noise for investors scanning “Progressive” news. Progressive Planet Posts Record Q3 Revenue Progressive Planet Q3 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target for PGR to $208 and moved to Market Perform, signaling reduced near-term upside expectations and likely contributing to selling pressure among tactical investors. BMO Price Target Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America published a pessimistic forecast for PGR’s stock outlook, adding to downward pressure from cautious sell‑side sentiment. Bank of America Issues Pessimistic Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Progressive CFO John Sauerland announced retirement after a 35‑year tenure — a material leadership change that may create short-term uncertainty about financial stewardship and succession, though management has a long track record at the company. CFO Retirement

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,761 shares of company stock valued at $2,659,420. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays raised Progressive from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $257.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $208.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $214.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.94.

Progressive Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $205.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.91. The stock has a market cap of $120.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 8.75 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $197.92 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.08%.

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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