Plato Investment Management Ltd Purchases 2,881 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 13.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,908 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank grew its holdings in Progressive by 8.2% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC raised its position in Progressive by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $255.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $214.90. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $134.34 and a 1 year high of $256.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 147,354 shares of company stock valued at $33,502,680 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.