Principal Securities Inc. Increases Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,357 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 1,171 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,195,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,750,829.82. This represents a 8.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,429 shares in the company, valued at $3,451,160.43. This trade represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,705 shares of company stock worth $11,450,948 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Progressive from $291.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley downgraded Progressive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $285.41.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded down $1.29 on Wednesday, hitting $250.35. 2,533,874 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,797,081. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.37. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $207.50 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $273.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.61.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.70%.

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.