Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 54,722 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,536,149 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,722 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $318,459,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $76,260,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,526,959 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,794,814,000 after purchasing an additional 656,249 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,025,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 86,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,789,000 after buying an additional 13,850 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 39,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,521,000 after buying an additional 6,844 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE PGR opened at $231.20 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $239.38. The company has a market cap of $134.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $217.64 and its 200 day moving average is $209.28.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Lori Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. The trade was a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 485,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $106,553,641. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,352 shares of company stock worth $10,524,258. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Progressive from $266.00 to $222.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, October 16th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $234.45.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is an insurance holding company headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. Founded in 1937, the company provides insurance products primarily to consumers and businesses in the United States. Progressive distributes its products directly through its website, mobile channels and call centers, as well as through independent agents and brokers.

The company is best known for personal auto insurance, including coverage for cars, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles and other personal vehicles.