Belmont Capital LLC Takes $580,000 Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Belmont Capital LLC has acquired a new stake in The Progressive Corporation, purchasing 2,049 shares valued at approximately $580,000 in the first quarter.
• Insider sales have been notable, with Steven Broz and John Jo Murphy selling shares worth over $893,000 combined, reflecting a decrease in ownership.
• Equities analysts have adjusted their price targets for Progressive, with the average target now at $284.18 and several banks issuing buy or hold ratings.

Belmont Capital LLC bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,049 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,338,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $320,710,000 after purchasing an additional 46,507 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $337,299.10. Following the sale, the insider owned 31,733 shares in the company, valued at $7,958,001.74. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total transaction of $1,557,750.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,402,135.52. The trade was a 22.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR traded down $5.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $243.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,690,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,637,555. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.56. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $142.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

About Progressive

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.