EP Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 1,821 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in The Progressive Corporation by 80.0%, purchasing an additional 1,821 shares, bringing its total holdings to 4,096 shares valued at $1,159,000.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Progressive, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.18, amidst changes in ratings from firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and Evercore ISI.
• Progressive announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a payout date of October 10th and a dividend yield of 0.2%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 80.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,096 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake 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 period. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.18.

Progressive Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE:PGR opened at $243.76 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $247.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.58. The company has a market cap of $142.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $228.54 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The company 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 21,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,402,135.52. The trade was a 22.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares in the company, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. 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 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.

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