15,727 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Bought by Ancora Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ancora Advisors bought 15,727 Progressive shares worth approximately $3.44 million in the second quarter, while institutional investors overall own 85.34% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Progressive has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $236.05, with recent target changes ranging from $200 to $308.
• Progressive exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $5.67 in EPS versus $4.64 expected and $23.61 billion in revenue; insiders have nonetheless sold $17.69 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,727 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,436,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Progressive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,267,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $436,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,307 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PGR. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $769,780.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,595 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,370,900. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at $8,908,847.43. The trade was a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $222.36 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.04. The stock has a market cap of $129.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $249.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Progressive 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.

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