Lafayette Investments Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Lafayette Investments Inc. lowered its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 93,970 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 5.0% of Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Lafayette Investments Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $23,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Index Fund Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 14.9% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 11,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,997,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1,327.1% in the third quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 5,423 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,376,000 after purchasing an additional 5,043 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 29,701.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $151,325,000 after purchasing an additional 594,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth approximately $2,134,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $263.19.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $248.88. The company had a trading volume of 83,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,475,415. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $149.14 and a one year high of $260.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $145.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 74,843 shares of company stock valued at $18,674,912 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.