L2 Asset Management LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

L2 Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,335 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $729,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 firm’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 sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 83,449 shares of company stock worth $17,685,203. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $226.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.05.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $223.87 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $249.83. The stock has a market cap of $130.15 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $215.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.82.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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.