Janus Henderson Group PLC Sells 667,261 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Janus Henderson Group PLC cut its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,172,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 667,261 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 0.9% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 1.22% of Progressive worth $1,820,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in Progressive by 126.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This trade represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. This represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,839 shares of company stock worth $4,038,065. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.81.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $263.97 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $254.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $149.14 and a 12 month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Company 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.