Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 99.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,837 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $10,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,289,037,000 after buying an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 61.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Progressive by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Progressive by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,433,722,000 after buying an additional 915,643 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.5%

PGR stock opened at $249.06 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $226.52 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $254.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.21. The stock has a market cap of $146.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.06.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 47,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $795,324.84. Following the transaction, the insider owned 37,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,465,387.48. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 in the last quarter. Company 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.