Bensler LLC Acquires 2,330 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Bensler LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 3.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,330 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 2.0% of Bensler LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Bensler LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $18,300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PGR. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $306,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lifted its position in Progressive by 199.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 6,263 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,583,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $647,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $269.90.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares in the company, valued at $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the business’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 $7,356,934.80. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,500 shares of company stock worth $14,430,089. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 3.6%

NYSE:PGR opened at $217.16 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $199.90 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $233.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.14. The stock has a market cap of $127.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.