The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stake Increased by BankPlus Trust Department

BankPlus Trust Department boosted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,113 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 1.9% of BankPlus Trust Department’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. BankPlus Trust Department’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,548,217,000 after acquiring an additional 493,332 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,128,055,000 after acquiring an additional 301,371 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Progressive by 32.8% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709,417 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth $2,156,939,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after purchasing an additional 396,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Mizuho began coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday, December 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $242.00 price target for the company. Finally, William Blair cut Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.98.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $227.15 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $199.90 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $133.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $239.15.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total value of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive 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.