The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Reduced by Van Cleef Asset Management Inc

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc decreased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 809,839 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 17,561 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 21.1% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc owned 0.14% of Progressive worth $168,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,703,318,000 after buying an additional 285,070 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,078,831,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after acquiring an additional 670,006 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Progressive by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,885,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $778,199,000 after acquiring an additional 19,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,577,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $569,861,000 after purchasing an additional 86,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays began coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price for the company. Finally, 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. Six 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the business’s 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 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 three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 0.9 %

Progressive stock opened at $249.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $145.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $227.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.82. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $134.34 and a 1 year high of $254.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Progressive Company 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.