The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. cut its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 80.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 95,280 shares during the period. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,548,217,000 after purchasing an additional 493,332 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,128,055,000 after acquiring an additional 301,371 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Progressive by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth $2,156,939,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,129,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,101,883,000 after purchasing an additional 42,909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.6%

Progressive stock opened at $202.35 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $222.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $233.97. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $199.90 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $118.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total value of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $227.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. HSBC set a $259.00 target price on shares of Progressive and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.