Independent Advisor Alliance Has $8.72 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 11.0%, acquiring a total of 30,814 shares valued at $8.72 million as of the recent SEC filing.
• Progressive reported $4.88 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.43, with revenues totaling $20.08 billion.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of Progressive's stock, indicating significant institutional interest in the company.

Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,814 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,064 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance's holdings in Progressive were worth $8,721,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during 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 buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after buying an additional 33,864 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,431,000 after buying an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,406,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $246.49 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $256.79 and a 200-day moving average of $266.45. The company has a market capitalization of $144.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $217.91 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. 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, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were 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 owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $795,324.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 37,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,465,387.48. The trade was a 7.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. Corporate insiders own 0.33% 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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