The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stake Raised by James Hambro & Partners LLP

James Hambro & Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 506,297 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,791 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 4.4% of James Hambro & Partners LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. James Hambro & Partners LLP owned about 0.09% of Progressive worth $125,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 900.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new position in Progressive during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 6,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $227.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.80. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $133.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released 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). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. William Blair lowered Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $253.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.98.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.