Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 153,929 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,751,492 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 153,929 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for approximately 1.0% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.18% of Progressive worth $3,148,981,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stenger Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 98.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC now owns 2,847 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $283,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 29,063 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $7,177,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the third quarter. Rather & Kittrell Inc. now owns 5,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 9.5% during the third quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,448,000 after buying an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $202.35 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.97. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $199.90 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $118.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.19%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on PGR. UBS Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Zacks Research cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $237.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $259.39.

Progressive Company Profile

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.