The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock Bought by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management increased its Progressive stake by 9.3% in the third quarter, adding 8,931 shares to bring its holdings to 104,542 shares, valued at about $22 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company.
• Progressive insiders sold 48,352 shares worth about $10.5 million over the past 90 days; the reported sales were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was Hold, with an average price target of $234.45. Progressive shares opened at $229.13, and the company’s quarterly dividend was $0.10 per share.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 9.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 8,931 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $22,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Progressive by 11.6% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 43,094 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $8,934,000 after buying an additional 4,473 shares during the last quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Progressive by 3.3% in the third quarter. Third View Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 3,169.2% in the third quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 425 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter valued at $445,000. Finally, Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter valued at $3,324,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.32, for a total value of $273,567.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,433,179.24. This represents a 4.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 48,352 shares of company stock worth $10,524,258 over the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $229.13 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $239.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $218.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.22.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $252.00 to $246.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price (up from $235.00) on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $238.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $234.45.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is an insurance holding company headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. Founded in 1937, the company provides insurance products primarily to consumers and businesses in the United States. Progressive distributes its products directly through its website, mobile channels and call centers, as well as through independent agents and brokers.

The company is best known for personal auto insurance, including coverage for cars, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles and other personal vehicles.

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