Venture Visionary Partners LLC Increases Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its position in The Progressive Corporation by 115.1% during the second quarter, owning a total of 16,551 shares valued at approximately $4.4 million.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside a 12.1% year-over-year revenue increase to approximately $20.08 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share scheduled for payment on October 10th, representing a 0.2% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 2.25%.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 115.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,858 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $4,417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,289,037,000 after purchasing an additional 622,590 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Progressive by 15.2% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,828 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 6.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $1,473,180,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE PGR opened at $244.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $143.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $245.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $261.63. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $228.54 and a one year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive 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 $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock worth $31,997,390. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.75.

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.

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