Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Raises Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,015,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 84,656 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 1.4% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Progressive were worth $991,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Evercore set a $230.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.71.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,062.50. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 39,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,103 shares of company stock valued at $1,883,924 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $211.60 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $197.92 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.08%.

About Progressive

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.