The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Smith Group Asset Management LLC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 869.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,973 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 84,281 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 2.0% of Smith Group Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $26,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,795,262,000 after acquiring an additional 583,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Progressive by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after purchasing an additional 710,684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.0%

NYSE PGR traded down $2.73 on Tuesday, hitting $264.13. 2,969,624 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,763,311. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $207.48 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $274.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $154.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during 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 anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,451,160.43. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $1,041,520.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,750,829.82. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,705 shares of company stock worth $8,813,048. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.88.

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.