Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,478,131 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 465,481 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.25% of Progressive worth $235,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,078,831,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,449 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 31.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,781,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $666,004,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,591 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 102.9% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,131,601 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $296,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,080,834 shares during the period. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth $88,528,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $1.66 on Wednesday, reaching $207.72. 354,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,556,560. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $184.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.41 and a fifty-two week high of $217.77.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Progressive from $244.00 to $243.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $215.19.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 7,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.25, for a total transaction of $1,525,567.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 35,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,357,996.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,825 shares of company stock valued at $3,337,741. 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.