Private Advisor Group LLC Raises Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake by 151.1% in The Progressive Corporation during Q3, acquiring an additional 23,234 shares to hold 38,608 shares valued at about $9.53 million.
• Progressive is highly institutionally owned (about 85.34%), with large holders including Vanguard (54.67M shares) and a new roughly $2.16 billion stake from Norges Bank, signaling strong buy-side interest.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed — the consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $241.94 and several recent price-target cuts (e.g., Morgan Stanley to $205, BMO to $208) — while insiders have made modest sales and the company announced a small $0.10 quarterly dividend (0.2% yield).

Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 151.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,608 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 23,234 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $9,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,500,146,000 after purchasing an additional 151,240 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,128,055,000 after purchasing an additional 301,371 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709,417 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter worth $2,156,939,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,129,069 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,101,883,000 after buying an additional 42,909 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Progressive is expanding its market presence in North America, which supports longer-term premium growth and distribution reach. Progressive Insurance Expands Market Presence In North America
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America kept a Buy stance while slightly trimming its price target (from $315 to $308), which signals continued analyst confidence in the company’s longer-term earnings power despite near-term headwinds. Bank of America PT Cut
• Positive Sentiment: Progressive announced a small quarterly dividend (record April 2; payable April 10). While the yield is modest, the payout and prior special dividends highlight management’s willingness to return capital, which can support income-oriented holders. Progressive Dividend Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Featured investor commentary continues to highlight Progressive as a high-conviction, dividend-oriented name due to strong underwriting, data advantages and market-share resilience. (This bolsters buy-side narratives even as growth moderates.) Heads, I Win - Tails, I Don't Lose
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent analysis notes Progressive’s fundamentals remain intact but growth is moderating, which helps explain mixed near-term sentiment: profitable and well-capitalized, but with slower top-line momentum. Progressive: Moderating Growth But Intact Fundamentals
• Neutral Sentiment: Note: a press item about Progressive Planet (ticker PLAN) releasing low-carbon cement is unrelated to PGR and can cause ticker confusion in headlines. Progressive Planet Unveils Low-Carbon LCD Cement
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $208 and moved to a "market perform" rating, increasing near-term downside risk perception and likely contributing to selling pressure. BMO Lowers PT to $208
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Chief Accounting Officer Carl Joyce disclosed a sale (141 shares) and another recent insider (Karen Bailo) sold shares — small transactions but they can weigh on sentiment when paired with analyst caution. Carl Joyce Form 4 Karen Bailo Sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $208.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research raised Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $226.00 to $218.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $241.94.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $201.19 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $197.92 and a one year high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $117.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a P/E/G ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $207.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.03.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,924,379.20. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,761 shares of company stock worth $2,659,420. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.