The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Acquired by Pelham Capital Ltd.

Pelham Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,975 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,875 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for approximately 3.4% of Pelham Capital Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Pelham Capital Ltd.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,908,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,156,939,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 32.8% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $14,548,217,000 after buying an additional 493,332 shares during the last quarter. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $117,057,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Progressive by 154.3% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 673,646 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $179,769,000 after acquiring an additional 408,779 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $634,506.75. Following the sale, the executive owned 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,363,983.15. This trade represents a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,443 shares of company stock worth $2,723,061. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Progressive from $239.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $252.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 30th. HSBC lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $250.35.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $204.43 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $214.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 7.16 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $197.92 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.08%.

Progressive 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.