NewEdge Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 20.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,199 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $277,000. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 2,346 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $507,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. Finally, Belpointe Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $212,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays assumed coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price on the stock. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $254.37 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $137.59 and a twelve month high of $260.46. The firm has a market cap of $148.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.12.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at $7,626,840. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Company 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.