California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 21.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,424,466 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 384,431 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Progressive were worth $282,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in Progressive by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $1,836,094,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,807,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $411,506,000 after purchasing an additional 97,275 shares in the last quarter. Investment House LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $8,447,000. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,429,000 after buying an additional 9,017 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,633,152.36. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $207.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $208.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.50. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.05.

Key Stories Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive’s quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

Progressive Company Profile

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.