The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 16.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,864 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,597,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,703,318,000 after acquiring an additional 285,070 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after buying an additional 670,006 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,885,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $778,199,000 after buying an additional 19,724 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,577,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,861,000 after buying an additional 86,686 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,392,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $497,003,000 after acquiring an additional 69,709 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $256.91 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $137.59 and a 12-month high of $260.46. The company has a market cap of $150.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $216.02.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 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 company 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 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.