Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 147,864 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors increased its stake in Progressive by 6.6% in the first quarter, buying 147,864 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 2.4 million shares worth about $475.7 million.
• Progressive’s stock was up about 2%, with shares opening at $212.09; the company has a market cap of $123.93 billion and a 1-year trading range of $189.20 to $254.93.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus "Hold" with an average price target of $235.05.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,398,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 147,864 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.41% of Progressive worth $475,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,584,067,000 after purchasing an additional 593,612 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,398,123,000 after buying an additional 1,217,527 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,375,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $212.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The firm's 50-day moving average is $209.08 and its 200-day moving average is $206.22.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% 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 5,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.05.

Progressive Company Profile

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.