Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Acquires 14,081 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Motley Fool Asset Management increased its stake in Progressive by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 14,081 additional shares and bringing its total to 54,531 shares worth about $12.4 million.
• Insiders sold shares recently, including Steven Broz and John Jo Murphy, who together sold more than 7,000 shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Progressive beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter with EPS of $4.80 versus estimates of $4.67, while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 34.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,531 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,081 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $12,418,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.8% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 12.0% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $199.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $116.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $271.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $198.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays set a $247.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Argus raised shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.11.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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