Strategic Planning Group LLC Boosts Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Strategic Planning Group LLC raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,668 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,890 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises about 2.2% of Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $20,025,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $517,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 12.1% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.4% during the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 16.1% during the second quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,263 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 13.0% in the second quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,504 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho set a $236.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $7,942,165.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares in the company, valued at $111,199,682.96. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. 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 have sold 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of PGR opened at $208.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $214.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.45. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $254.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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 paid 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 2.01%.

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.