The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 179,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 106,170 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $40,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Progressive by 78.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Progressive by 26.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $353,906,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $185,761,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $204.27 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.87. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $283.95. The firm has a market cap of $119.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays set a $247.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Profile

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.