Free Trial

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC Has $24.24 Million Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Progressive logo with Finance background

Key Points

  • Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation to approximately $24.24 million, representing a 3.6% rise during the 2nd quarter, making it the firm's 23rd largest holding.
  • CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of Progressive stock for about $7.54 million, reducing her ownership by 6.05%, while other insiders also decreased their holdings recently.
  • Bank of America raised its target price for Progressive from $343 to $350, maintaining a "buy" rating, amidst generally favorable analyst forecasts for the company.
  • MarketBeat previews top five stocks to own in November.

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,840 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 3,120 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 2.3% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $24,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st 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 bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,194,933.16. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock worth $31,997,390. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $343.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $265.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $279.63.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Progressive

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $240.18 on Friday. 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $245.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $259.74. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $140.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Progressive Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Progressive (NYSE:PGR)

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Should You Invest $1,000 in Progressive Right Now?

Before you consider Progressive, you'll want to hear this.

MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Progressive wasn't on the list.

While Progressive currently has a Hold rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.

View The Five Stocks Here

 The Best Nuclear Energy Stocks to Buy Cover

Nuclear energy stocks are roaring. It's the hottest energy sector of the year. Cameco Corp, Paladin Energy, and BWX Technologies were all up more than 40% in 2024. The biggest market moves could still be ahead of us, and there are seven nuclear energy stocks that could rise much higher in the next several months. To unlock these tickers, enter your email address below.

Get This Free Report
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.