Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $5.93 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 29,900 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,927,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,584,067,000 after acquiring an additional 593,612 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after purchasing an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Progressive by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,398,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,527 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Progressive by 26.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,375,706,000 after buying an additional 1,092,151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $224.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $130.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $267.92. The business’s 50 day moving average is $201.86 and its 200 day moving average is $206.89.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Argus upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $259.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $237.58.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.