Levin Capital Strategies L.P. Buys New Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Levin Capital Strategies L.P. has established a new position in The Progressive Corporation, acquiring 1,691 shares valued at approximately $479,000 in the 1st quarter.
• Other institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in Progressive, with GAMMA Investing LLC raising its position by 39,285% and now owning over 3 million shares worth $862 million.
• The Progressive Corporation reported $4.88 EPS for the last quarter, beating analysts' expectations, and declared a $0.10 dividend with a yield of 15.0%.

Levin Capital Strategies L.P. bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Progressive Stock Down 0.9%

Progressive stock traded down $2.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $245.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,042,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,702,400. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $257.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.03. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $214.99 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $143.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 47,942 shares in the company, valued at $11,949,064.08. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.