73,974 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Acquired by JLB & Associates Inc.

Key Points

• JLB & Associates acquired 73,974 Progressive shares worth approximately $16.16 million in the second quarter, making the insurer 2.2% of the fund’s portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of Progressive.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $5.67, beating estimates of $4.64, while revenue reached $23.61 billion and rose 5% year over year. The company’s stock opened at $206.98, below the analyst consensus target of $233.16.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with 15 Holds, five Buys and two Sells. Progressive also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, while insiders sold 82,224 shares worth about $17.4 million over the past three months.

JLB & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 73,974 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,160,000. Progressive accounts for 2.2% of JLB & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 235.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $206.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $214.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.39. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $233.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% 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. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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