Horizon Investments LLC Acquires 2,862 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 36,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,862 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Progressive by 20.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 279 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its position in Progressive by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 4.6% during the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $199.60 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $192.02 and a 12-month high of $289.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PGR. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $227.00 to $210.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Six research 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 currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.39.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.