The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Acquired by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 14.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 314,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,203 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $83,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Progressive by 6,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 900.0% in the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE PGR opened at $234.61 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $224.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $242.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $199.90 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $137.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 17,673 shares of company stock worth $4,163,005 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $261.00 to $232.00 in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 target price on Progressive and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $266.40.

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.