Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 168,351 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $35,022,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $254.37 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $148.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $239.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.12. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $137.59 and a 52 week high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

About Progressive

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.