The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by Wright Investors Service Inc.

Key Points

• Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 10.2%, now holding 33,889 shares valued at approximately $9,044,000, making Progressive its 7th largest position.
• Progressive's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88, exceeding expectations, with revenues reaching $20.08 billion, a 12.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a $0.10 quarterly dividend to be paid on October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 0.2%.

Wright Investors Service Inc. increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,140 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 2.7% of Wright Investors Service Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $9,044,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,289,037,000 after purchasing an additional 622,590 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 61.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in Progressive by 15.2% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after buying an additional 1,091,828 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 6.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after buying an additional 396,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $1,473,180,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. The trade was a 29.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 140,045 shares of company stock worth $34,635,290 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.3%

NYSE:PGR traded down $3.10 on Tuesday, hitting $238.05. 1,809,100 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,173,926. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $245.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $262.95. The company has a market cap of $139.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.31.

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.