Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 233,037 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,446,539 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 233,037 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up about 0.9% of Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 2.47% of Progressive worth $3,000,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth about $290,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Progressive by 13.7% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,908 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,966,000 after acquiring an additional 2,881 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 18.6% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 99,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,670,000 after purchasing an additional 15,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth approximately $23,413,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was 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 owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $255.46 on Monday. 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 $134.34 and a 12-month high of $256.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $229.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.29.

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.