The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 30.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 324,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 76,604 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $67,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 11.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank raised its position in shares of Progressive by 8.2% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the second quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total transaction of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 974 shares in the company, valued at $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 147,354 shares of company stock worth $33,502,680. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $255.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $134.34 and a 52-week high of $256.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $229.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.74. The company has a market cap of $149.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.29.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.