William Blair Investment Management LLC Makes New $23.41 Million Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 112,719 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $23,413,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 206.8% during the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 7,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,615,000 after purchasing an additional 5,243 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 8.3% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,852 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 46.2% in the second quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 118,599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $24,634,000 after acquiring an additional 37,498 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 20.2% in the second quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth approximately $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.29.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $255.46 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $134.34 and a 52 week high of $256.74. 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 company has a market capitalization 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.06.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued 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 is presently 4.09%.

About Progressive

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.