Virtu Financial LLC Buys New Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,112 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,566,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 20.9% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock traded up $9.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $251.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,285,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,484,099. The stock has a market cap of $147.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50 day moving average is $253.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.23. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $149.14 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. This trade represents a 9.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, HSBC lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.69.

Progressive 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.