Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Aberdeen Group plc raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 471,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 30,787 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.08% of Progressive worth $125,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,918 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after buying an additional 749 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management boosted its position in Progressive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 14,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,794,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,526,000 after buying an additional 12,829 shares during the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $398,000. Finally, Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $17,445,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,356,934.80. This represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $240.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $259.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets set a $252.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $279.63.

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.