50,900 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems ET Al purchased 50,900 shares of The Progressive Corporation, valued at approximately $13.58 million, during the second quarter.
• Insiders have sold a total of 128,778 shares of Progressive in the last quarter, worth $31.68 million, indicating significant insider trading activity.
• Progressive's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.45, which missed analysts' estimates of $5.04, highlighting potential concerns about the company's performance.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 50,900 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,583,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.5% in the second quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,793 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,080,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.4% in the second quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.8% in the second quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 309,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $82,707,000 after buying an additional 2,442 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in the second quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,349 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Applied Finance Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth $1,639,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $312.00 to $301.38 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $351.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $274.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,778 shares of company stock worth $31,683,756 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $225.57 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $217.20 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $132.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company's fifty day moving average price is $243.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $257.69.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

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.

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