Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Increases Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 91,041 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,387 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $24,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. GenTrust LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $349,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 0.8%

PGR opened at $240.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $245.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $259.65. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $140.80 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. The trade was a 29.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock worth $31,997,390 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Progressive from $265.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.63.

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.