Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 10.9% during the third quarter, acquiring an additional 15,932 shares to bring its total stake to 161,477 shares valued at $39.5 million at quarter-end. National Pension Service also boosted its position, adding 40,586 shares for a 2.9% increase, lifting its total to 1.45 million shares worth $357.9 million. KeyBank National Association grew its stake by 8.4%, purchasing 8,293 additional shares to hold 106,969 shares valued at $26.4 million. Conversely, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. reduced its position by 79.5%, selling 49,908 shares and retaining 12,849 shares valued at $3.2 million. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.34% of the company.

Senior executives have recently trimmed their exposure to Progressive stock. Chief Investment Officer Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares at an average price of $204.35, reducing his stake by 10.6% to 26,249 shares. Chief Financial Officer John P. Sauerland disposed of 5,000 shares at an average of $228.48, a 2.2% reduction, leaving him with 223,024 shares. President Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares at the same average price of $204.35, a 4.0% cut, resulting in a holding of 39,626 shares. In total, insiders have sold 13,788 shares valued at $3.0 million over the past ninety days and currently own 0.34% of the outstanding shares.

Over the past quarter, seven research houses reaffirmed or initiated Buy/outperform ratings, while twelve maintained Hold/market perform and three remained bearish. Bank of America lowered its target from 350 to 348, JPMorgan Chase cut from 303 to 275, and Wells Fargo trimmed from 240 to 220. Raymond James reduced its target from 305 to 265, while Goldman Sachs set a target of 227. The consensus rating is Hold with an average target of 255.68. Recent upgrades include Barclays lifting its rating from Equal Weight to Overweight and raising its target from 257 to 265. UBS and Mizuho also issued neutral and 240 targets respectively.

The Progressive Corporation reported a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Its price-earnings multiple stands at 10.8 with a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s twelve-month trading range spans from 198.50 to 292.99, and its fifty-day and two-hundred-day moving averages sit at 219.58 and 230.82. In early January, the board declared a quarterly dividend of 0.10 per share, equivalent to a 0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%, reflecting a payout ratio of 2.08%.