The Progressive Corporation $PGR Position Trimmed by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 109,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,742 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Progressive were worth $27,120,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,548,217,000 after buying an additional 493,332 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,128,055,000 after acquiring an additional 301,371 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 32.8% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at $2,156,939,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 1.1% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,129,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,101,883,000 after purchasing an additional 42,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $336,973.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. This represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,443 shares of company stock worth $2,723,061. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $237.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.35.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $204.43 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $214.61 and its 200-day moving average is $227.54. The company has a market cap of $119.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a P/E/G ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $197.92 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.