Tortoise Investment Management LLC Buys New Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Tortoise Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 29,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,488,000. Progressive accounts for 0.5% of Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Down 2.7%

PGR stock opened at $203.98 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $254.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $214.43 and its 200-day moving average is $206.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total transaction of $1,727,974.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,782,595.70. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

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.