Impax Asset Management Group plc Grows Stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 100.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,753 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 67,073 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Progressive were worth $37,853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after acquiring an additional 33,864 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,141,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 93,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,451,000 after acquiring an additional 13,231 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 target price on Progressive and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.88.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total transaction of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,544,668.88. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $329,901.46. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,191,955.98. This represents a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock worth $11,450,948 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $2.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $260.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,685,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,780,105. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $207.50 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $152.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day moving average is $274.28 and its 200 day moving average is $265.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

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.