Parnassus Investments LLC Buys 54,390 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Parnassus Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 447,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,390 shares during the quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Progressive worth $110,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.4% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Progressive by 4.2% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 20.8% during the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 5.4% in the second quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $614,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Mizuho started coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. William Blair downgraded Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $260.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total transaction of $307,050.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:PGR opened at $214.97 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $223.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $236.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $199.90 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $126.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.19%.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.