The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Bought by Artisan Partners Limited Partnership

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,015,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 84,656 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 1.4% of Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.68% of Progressive worth $991,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 10,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $288,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday. Evercore set a $230.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.71.

Progressive Trading Up 3.5%

PGR opened at $211.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.38. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $197.92 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $124.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.62.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.08%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,330,062.50. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,924,379.20. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,103 shares of company stock worth $1,883,924 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.