The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock: North Dakota State Investment Board Grows Stake

North Dakota State Investment Board grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 31.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,536 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $225.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $131.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $239.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $217.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.13.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $266.00 to $222.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $242.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $241.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $234.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total transaction of $8,195,691.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 485,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,553,641. This trade represents a 7.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 48,352 shares of company stock worth $10,524,258 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is an insurance holding company headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio. Founded in 1937, the company provides insurance products primarily to consumers and businesses in the United States. Progressive distributes its products directly through its website, mobile channels and call centers, as well as through independent agents and brokers.

The company is best known for personal auto insurance, including coverage for cars, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles and other personal vehicles.