Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Acquires 12,793 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 72.1%, acquiring an additional 12,793 shares, which now brings their total holdings to 30,529 shares valued at approximately $8.64 million.
• Insider selling was noted, with Karen Bailo and Lori A. Niederst selling 8,922 and 8,063 shares respectively, reflecting significant decreases in their ownership percentages.
• The Progressive Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a yield of 0.2%, which will be paid on October 10th to shareholders of record by October 2nd.

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 72.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,793 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $8,640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.5% in the first quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 5,304 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,501,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 14.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,950,321 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $551,961,000 after acquiring an additional 245,817 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $247,000. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3.8% in the first quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 77,754 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $22,105,000 after acquiring an additional 2,848 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 66,070 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $18,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup began coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $312.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price 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 $275.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $284.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 112,313 shares of company stock worth $28,349,549 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $247.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $252.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Progressive Company 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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