Next Century Growth Investors LLC Has $5.50 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 76.2% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 19,434 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• The Progressive Corporation reported $4.88 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.45, with a revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter.
• Progressive has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable on October 10th, representing an annualized dividend yield of 0.2%.

Next Century Growth Investors LLC increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 76.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,434 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,402 shares during the period. Next Century Growth Investors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $5,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE PGR opened at $245.01 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $250.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.20. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $143.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at $122,741,523.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock worth $27,003,746. Company insiders own 0.34% 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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