The Progressive Corporation $PGR Position Boosted by Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 58.6% in the second quarter, now holding 20,441 shares valued at approximately $5.46 million.
• Insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of Progressive, resulting in a 29.71% decrease in their ownership, while CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares, decreasing her ownership by 5.70%.
• Progressive's stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a mixed outlook reflected in price target adjustments by firms like Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 58.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,441 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,550 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for 1.9% of Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Lee Johnson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $5,455,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.0% in the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 7.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $147,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This trade represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PGR. Bank of America lifted their price target on Progressive from $343.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $279.75.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2%

Progressive stock opened at $244.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $143.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $245.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $261.63. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

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