Argos Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Argos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 2,563 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $508,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,584,067,000 after buying an additional 593,612 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased 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 acquiring an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,398,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,527 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,757,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,375,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.9%

PGR stock opened at $231.75 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $261.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.42 billion, a PE ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 6.82 and a beta of 0.26. 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 50-day simple moving average of $203.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.63.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho cut their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $237.37.

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.