Hartford Investment Management Co. Has $9.44 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Hartford Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,385 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 522 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $9,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma acquired a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $439,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in Progressive by 87.9% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 414,183 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $117,218,000 after purchasing an additional 193,800 shares in the last quarter. Belmont Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,893,000 after buying an additional 33,864 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $242.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market cap of $141.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $228.54 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $245.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $262.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 140,045 shares of company stock worth $34,635,290. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.31.

Progressive 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.