Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 54,265 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. reduced its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,009,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 54,265 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $415,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 143.6% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,742,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,742,363.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,518 shares of company stock valued at $7,159,674. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $1.63 on Wednesday, hitting $209.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 143,832 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,571,549. The company has a market capitalization of $122.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $111.41 and a 1 year high of $217.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.23.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Progressive from $279.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.81.

About Progressive

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.