Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 172,662 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Ceredex Value Advisors bought a new position of 172,662 shares of The Progressive Corporation in Q3, valued at about $42.64 million.
• Several major institutions (e.g., Capital Research, Capital International Investors, Bank of Montreal) materially increased their stakes, leaving 85.34% of PGR held by institutional investors.
• Insiders sold 12,761 shares worth roughly $2.66 million in the past 90 days (insiders own 0.33%), and Progressive declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share (annualized $0.40, yield 0.2%), payable April 10 (ex-dividend April 2).

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 172,662 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,639,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl lifted its position in Progressive by 24.6% during the third quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 14,633 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,614,000 after buying an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA boosted its stake in Progressive by 63.2% during the third quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 181,523 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $44,827,000 after buying an additional 70,273 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Progressive by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 870,705 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $215,021,000 after buying an additional 134,602 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,761 shares of company stock worth $2,659,420. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $206.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $121.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74, a PEG ratio of 9.19 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $197.92 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $208.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 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 2.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $214.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $226.00 to $218.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $245.50.

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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