The Progressive Corporation $PGR Holdings Lifted by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 19.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,434 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $11,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 900.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Progressive by 6,350.0% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1,885.7% in the second quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. HSBC set a $259.00 target price on Progressive and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings lowered Progressive from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $261.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $265.96.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $295,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 29,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,389,460. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 51,782 shares of company stock valued at $12,708,788 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $225.10 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $230.24 and a 200-day moving average of $249.42. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $199.90 and a one year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.