The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,369,619 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 70,646 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 0.4% of American Century Companies Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.40% of Progressive worth $670,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 77,754 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,105,000 after buying an additional 2,848 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 66,070 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $18,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 174,649 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $49,427,000 after purchasing an additional 17,591 shares during the last quarter. Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in shares of Progressive by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 440,937 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $124,516,000 after purchasing an additional 96,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Progressive by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,853,854 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $524,610,000 after acquiring an additional 45,313 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $251.19 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $253.79 and a 200-day moving average of $266.24. The firm has a market cap of $147.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total value of $1,509,141.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.06.

Progressive Profile

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.