Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Boosts Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,928 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 663 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 2,332 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 653 shares during the period. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 1,863 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $552,814.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 47,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total value of $1,509,141.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $247.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.94, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $213.47 and a 1-year 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 0.29. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $258.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $266.02.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 15.0%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 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.