Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 57.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,473 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,462 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $353,906,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $185,761,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,343 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,355. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $204.12 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $269.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $198.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.26. The company has a market cap of $119.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.11.

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.