Dorsey Wright & Associates Acquires Shares of 7,060 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,466,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Progressive by 237.8% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,883 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4,545.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after purchasing an additional 690,060 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in Progressive by 548.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $167,866,000 after buying an additional 686,433 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Progressive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after buying an additional 670,006 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $116,852,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. HSBC raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $251.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $237.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.13. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $137.59 and a 12-month high of $260.46. The company has a market capitalization of $147.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $850,689.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $850,689.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 144,332 shares of company stock worth $33,362,904 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.