The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stake Boosted by Geneos Wealth Management Inc.

Key Points

• Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 12.2%, now owning 29,362 shares valued at approximately $8.31 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC with a stake worth about $1.47 billion, have recently modified their positions in Progressive, leading to a total institutional ownership of 85.34%.
• Progressive's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88, exceeding estimates, with a quarterly revenue of $20.08 billion, although below expectations.

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,362 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, 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 90 days, insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.82.

Progressive Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE PGR traded down $0.51 on Friday, reaching $248.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,612,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,408,336. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $246.44 and a 200-day moving average of $264.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm 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%.Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 is 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.