Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 17,171 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 17,171 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,240,000. Progressive accounts for approximately 0.8% of Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 4.0% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB raised its stake in Progressive by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 46,190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,407,000 after buying an additional 3,361 shares during the period. TrueWealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 41.0% during the third quarter. TrueWealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,585 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 1,042 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 25.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 44,126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,897,000 after acquiring an additional 8,841 shares during the period. Finally, SFM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.8% in the third quarter. SFM LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Down 0.1%

Progressive stock opened at $227.66 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.49, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $199.90 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Progressive from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, December 15th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $242.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.98.

Progressive Company 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.