Wright Investors Service Inc. Has $7.08 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,676 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 5,213 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 2.1% of Wright Investors Service Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,082,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balefire LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at $212,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE PGR opened at $203.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $223.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $199.90 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $119.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $237.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $253.00 to $239.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $259.39.

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.