The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stake Lifted by Hingham Institution for Savings

Hingham Institution for Savings lifted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 292.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 25,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 4.1% of Hingham Institution for Savings’ holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Hingham Institution for Savings’ holdings in Progressive were worth $5,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $76,260,000. Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,136,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $8,447,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,025,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of PGR opened at $218.41 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $249.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.79. The firm has a market cap of $126.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PGR. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total value of $8,195,691.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 485,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,553,641. This trade represents a 7.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $769,780.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,370,900. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,714 shares of company stock worth $24,466,294. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive 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.