Natural Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 123.5% during Q2, acquiring an additional 1,128 shares, bringing its total holdings to 2,041 shares worth $544,000.
• Several hedge funds, including Integrated Advisors Network LLC and Rise Advisors LLC, also increased their positions in Progressive, with institutional investors collectively owning 85.34% of the stock.
• Progressive's CFO John P. Sauerland recently sold over 16,000 shares for approximately $4.15 million, indicating a 6.81% decrease in his ownership of the company.

Natural Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 123.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,041 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 1,128 shares during the quarter. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.0% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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. True North Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the first quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, GenTrust LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.5% in the first quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 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 $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock worth $31,997,390. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $343.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.63.

Progressive Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $240.18 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.74. The firm has a market cap of $140.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

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 the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

About Progressive

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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