The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Acquired by Voya Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in The Progressive Corporation by 138.2% in Q1, acquiring an additional 386,657 shares, bringing its total holdings to 666,510 shares valued at approximately $188.6 million.
• Analysts have mixed sentiments on Progressive, with targets set between $268.00 and $309.00, leading to a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a price target of $284.82.
• Progressive recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, which will be paid on October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 0.2%.

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 138.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 666,510 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 386,657 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Progressive worth $188,629,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $284.82.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares of the company's stock, valued at $117,194,933.16. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $2.83 during trading on Monday, hitting $245.45. 2,944,284 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,367,657. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $246.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.58.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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