The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC lifted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,300 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $257.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $234.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $217.84. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $137.59 and a twelve month high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. Progressive’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total transaction of $1,439,833.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,400.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 151,350 shares of company stock valued at $34,691,584. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PGR. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays began coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

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.