Confluence Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Confluence Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 597,858 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,587 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 2.0% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $136,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,500,146,000 after purchasing an additional 151,240 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Progressive by 78.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in Progressive by 26.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $202.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $118.55 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 8.76 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $197.92 and a 12 month high of $289.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $206.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.44.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.08%.

Key Headlines Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BofA kept a Buy rating and only trimmed its target slightly (from $308 to $305), leaving a large implied upside versus current levels — supports bullish investor sentiment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target from $214 to $217 and kept an Equal Weight view, a modest positive signal from another large shop. Article Title TickerReport
• Positive Sentiment: Progressive’s February operating update showed revenue/premium momentum: net premiums written +5% Y/Y, net premiums earned +8%, net income +2%, and policies in force +10% — supportive for top-line growth and pricing power. Investment-related realized losses improved sharply. Company Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its target to $227 and moved to Market Perform — a cautious stance but still shows modest upside relative to current prices. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and valuation pieces (Yahoo/Seeking Alpha/TipRanks) are prompting reassessments of PGR’s fair value after recent share weakness; these may influence medium-term sentiment but aren’t new company-specific catalysts. Yahoo Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Progressive issued a formal February performance update (company release / TipRanks coverage) — important for transparency but largely reiterative of monthly metrics. TipRanks
• Negative Sentiment: The combined ratio widened to 85.7 from 82.6 Y/Y, indicating underwriting profitability softened — a clear profit-margin headwind for an insurer. Company Release
• Negative Sentiment: Data shows significant insider selling and large institutional shifts (notably UBS removing a large block), which can weigh on sentiment and signal portfolio rebalancing or concern from major holders. QuiverQuant
• Negative Sentiment: Market headlines note intraday stock weakness in some sessions (MSN coverage), reflecting short-term volatility as investors digest the mixed signals. MSN

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $634,506.75. Following the sale, the executive owned 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,363,983.15. The trade was a 10.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,417 shares of company stock valued at $2,357,289. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $308.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $240.67.

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.