Diversify Advisory Services LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 10,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,199,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,584,067,000 after purchasing an additional 593,612 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at about $10,496,271,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after buying an additional 1,217,527 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC grew its position in Progressive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,375,706,000 after buying an additional 1,092,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE PGR opened at $206.98 on Wednesday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $254.93. The company has a market capitalization of $120.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $214.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.16.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.