1,194 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Acquired by Presper Financial Architects LLC

Key Points

• Presper Financial Architects LLC acquired 1,194 shares of The Progressive Corporation, valued at approximately $319,000, in the 2nd quarter as per a 13F filing.
• Insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares for over $2 million, indicating a 17.12% decrease in ownership, while CFO John P. Sauerland also sold 16,664 shares.
• Progressive recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.2%, with record date on October 2nd.

Presper Financial Architects LLC purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,194 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $319,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after acquiring an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 61.4% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Progressive by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,828 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Progressive by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,473,180,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2%

PGR opened at $244.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company's 50-day moving average is $245.32 and its 200 day moving average is $261.63. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $228.54 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $343.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.75.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.