Independent Financial Group LLC Makes New $520,000 Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Independent Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.05.

Progressive Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE PGR opened at $207.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $120.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $254.93.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

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.