L2 Asset Management LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

L2 Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,335 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $729,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE PGR opened at $223.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $249.83. The firm has a market cap of $130.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Mizuho set a $236.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

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.