Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 19,040 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,399,355 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 19,040 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.24% of Progressive worth $352,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in Progressive by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank increased its stake in Progressive by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $9.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $251.80. The company had a trading volume of 3,286,188 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,484,099. 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 Progressive Co. has a one year low of $149.14 and a one year high of $270.62. The firm has a market cap of $147.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $253.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.56.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total value of $1,964,096.16. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. This trade represents a 33.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.