Nvest Financial LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Nvest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 1.2% of Nvest Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Nvest Financial LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 39.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,763 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,046,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.9% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 177,377 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $50,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,194,933.16. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.63.

Progressive Stock Down 5.8%

PGR opened at $226.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $244.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.89. The stock has a market cap of $132.70 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $217.20 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

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.