William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management initiated a position in Progressive during the second quarter, purchasing 32,431 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive reported quarterly earnings of $5.67 per share, beating estimates of $4.64, while revenue reached $23.61 billion versus expectations of $19.49 billion. Revenue increased 5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $236.05. Meanwhile, insiders sold 82,224 shares worth about $17.4 million over the past 90 days, and the company declared a $0.10 quarterly dividend.

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 32,431 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,085,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total transaction of $1,727,974.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.05.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $219.45 on Monday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $215.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $252.82.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The company's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.01%.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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