Independent Financial Group LLC Acquires Shares of 2,622 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,267,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:PGR opened at $207.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $205.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $254.93.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PGR. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.05.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.