Valeo Financial Advisors LLC Acquires 212 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,966 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,628,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Progressive by 84.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,531,000 after buying an additional 11,770 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in Progressive by 90.4% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,354,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $1,890,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares in the company, valued at $213,383.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $254.09 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $148.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $142.87 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $245.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.71.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 presently 4.09%.

Progressive 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.