Sunbelt Securities Inc. Raises Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 21.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $54,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 126.0% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $252.27 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $138.69 and a 52 week high of $260.46. 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 cap of $147.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $240.90 and a 200-day moving average of $220.58.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released 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. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.02 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PGR. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $4,859,739.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $4,859,739.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,836,041.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.