Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,851 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,851 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Balentine LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 22,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,530,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.1% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Progressive from $235.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup cut their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Roth Mkm reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $4,859,739.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 108,168 shares of company stock valued at $22,937,984. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $219.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $128.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $210.37 and its 200 day moving average is $201.48. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $124.06 and a 52 week high of $229.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

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.