204,518 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Purchased by Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC

Key Points

• Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC acquired 204,518 shares of The Progressive Corporation, representing a value of approximately $57.88 million and making it the 25th largest position in their portfolio.
• Progressive reported a $4.88 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $4.43, alongside revenues of $20.08 billion.
• The company plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.10 on October 10th, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.2%, reflecting a payout ratio of 2.25%.

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 204,518 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $57,881,000. Progressive comprises approximately 1.4% of Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after purchasing an additional 33,864 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $556,230.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,466,664.72. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $337,299.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 31,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,958,001.74. This represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 2.1%

PGR stock traded down $5.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $243.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,690,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,637,555. The company has a market cap of $142.90 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $228.54 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm's 50-day moving average is $247.98 and its 200-day moving average is $265.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PGR. UBS Group reduced their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.18.

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.