Stiles Financial Services Inc Acquires New Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Stiles Financial Services Inc has acquired a new position in The Progressive Corporation, purchasing 1,490 shares valued at approximately $398,000.
• Progressive reported a quarterly earnings of $4.88 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate, with a revenue of $20.08 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with the dividend scheduled for payment on October 10th.

Stiles Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $398,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during 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 in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $241.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $245.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $259.98.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 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 2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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