Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Has $7.14 Million Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in The Progressive Corporation by 105.3% in Q1, now owning 25,234 shares valued at $7.14 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised their stakes in Progressive, with a total of 85.34% of the stock now held by institutions and hedge funds.
• The Progressive Corporation reported a net margin of 12.66% for the recent quarter, with earnings of $4.88 per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $4.43.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 105.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,941 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $7,144,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 3.0% in the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 2.0% in the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group grew its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Progressive by 2.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE PGR traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $241.66. The company had a trading volume of 3,537,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,710,215. The stock's 50 day moving average is $261.64 and its 200-day moving average is $265.97. The stock has a market cap of $141.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $208.13 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. 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 research report on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at $6,742,703.04. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Company 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.