Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 64,880 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 338,998 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 64,880 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.06% of Progressive worth $82,678,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 4.2% in the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Progressive by 20.8% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 5.4% during the second quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $229,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.6% in the second quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on PGR shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $259.39.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total transaction of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,323,176.42. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $0.74 on Tuesday, reaching $201.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 307,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,415,154. The company has a market cap of $118.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.34. 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 Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $198.50 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.40.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Progressive Company Profile

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.