SCS Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 1,097 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• SCS Capital Management LLC purchased 1,097 shares of The Progressive Corporation, valued at approximately $310,000, during the first quarter.
• The Progressive Corporation reported $4.88 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.43 and demonstrating a revenue increase of 12.1% year-over-year.
• Progressive declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10, with a yield of 0.2%, to be paid on October 10th to shareholders recorded on October 2nd.

SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,097 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $310,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after purchasing an additional 396,567 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its position in Progressive by 158.3% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,771 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,859,000 after acquiring an additional 17,019 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its position in Progressive by 87.9% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 414,183 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $117,218,000 after acquiring an additional 193,800 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Progressive by 13.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,406 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,586,000 after acquiring an additional 4,540 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its position in Progressive by 45.4% in the first quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 350,076 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $99,075,000 after acquiring an additional 109,370 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on Progressive from $344.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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 lowered their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered Progressive from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $283.12.

Progressive Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $3.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $241.19. The company had a trading volume of 1,060,654 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,162,951. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $141.39 billion, a PE ratio of 13.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.32. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $246.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $264.19.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

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.