The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 92,212 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.84% of Progressive worth $1,022,507,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,388 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,495,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $277,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $1.31 on Friday, reaching $251.07. 2,011,520 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,521,327. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $137.59 and a twelve month high of $260.46. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $237.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $367.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $257.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total transaction of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 144,332 shares of company stock worth $33,362,904. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.