Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 15.8%, acquiring an additional 12,025 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 88,235 shares valued at approximately $24.97 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Progressive, with target prices ranging from $268.00 to $333.00, reflecting a variety of perspectives following recent earnings announcements and market performance.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates by $0.45, and demonstrated revenue growth of 12.1% year-over-year, indicating strong financial performance despite lower revenue compared to analyst expectations.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,235 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 12,025 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $24,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Progressive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,433,722,000 after buying an additional 915,643 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,447,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,305,262,000 after buying an additional 337,146 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,327,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,276,510,000 after buying an additional 322,652 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR traded down $2.16 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $245.36. 2,042,363 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,702,400. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $214.99 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company's 50 day moving average price is $257.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.03.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. Progressive's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 47,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,949,064.08. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive 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.