Wesbanco Bank Inc. Buys 7,314 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 48.6%, acquiring an additional 7,314 shares, bringing its total holdings to 22,361 shares worth approximately $5.97 million.
• Progressive reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88, surpassing analysts' expectations of $4.43, and showing a revenue increase of 12.1% compared to the previous year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, which will be paid to investors of record on October 2nd, representing a 0.2% annualized yield.

Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 48.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,361 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 7,314 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $5,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE PGR opened at $248.29 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $246.44 and a 200-day moving average of $264.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $337,299.10. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 31,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,958,001.74. This trade represents a 4.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Progressive from $344.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $284.82.

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.

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