Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 156.8% during the first quarter, owning 19,046 shares worth approximately $5.39 million.
• Progressive reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88, exceeding expectations by $0.45, with revenue reaching $20.08 billion, a 12.1% increase from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share to be paid on October 10, representing a 0.2% dividend yield and reflecting a low payout ratio of 2.25%.

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 156.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,046 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,629 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total value of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded down $5.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $243.76. 1,690,776 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,616,163. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $247.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.56. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $142.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G 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, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 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.