Allstate Corp Acquires 22,915 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Allstate Corp increased its stake in Progressive by 106.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 22,915 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 44,513 shares worth about $10.1 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Progressive is mixed: the stock has a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $238.11, though analysts’ calls range from Buy to Sell.
• Progressive recently reported better-than-expected EPS of $4.80 for the quarter and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable July 10.

Allstate Corp increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 106.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Progressive were worth $10,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday. Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Evercore restated a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,928 shares of company stock worth $831,251. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $199.28 on Tuesday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $200.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.19. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $191.75 and a 52 week high of $289.96. The stock has a market cap of $116.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a P/E/G ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. 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, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Progressive Company 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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