WBI Investments LLC Takes $1.57 Million Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• WBI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in The Progressive Corporation, purchasing 5,548 shares valued at approximately $1.57 million in the first quarter.
• Progressive's stock has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by analysts, with a current average price target of $284.82.
• CEO Susan Patricia Griffith recently sold 30,660 shares valued at over $7.4 million, reducing her ownership stake in the company.

WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,548 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,570,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,426,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Belmont Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $580,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after purchasing an additional 33,864 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,141,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.82.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.2%

PGR opened at $246.17 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $228.54 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $144.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50 day moving average price is $246.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.12.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

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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