Mather Group LLC. Buys 4,865 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 40.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth $35,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 900.0% in the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1,885.7% during the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE PGR opened at $227.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $223.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $238.29. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $199.90 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $133.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Zacks Research lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Mizuho began coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $242.00 target price on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $264.98.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total transaction of $307,050.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive 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.