HB Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,255 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,864 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,584,067,000 after acquiring an additional 593,612 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after purchasing an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,527 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,375,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,151 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.37.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $231.75 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $261.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $203.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $206.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $135.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.03 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

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.