London Co. of Virginia Reduces Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

London Co. of Virginia trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,594,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 98,119 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 1.9% of London Co. of Virginia’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Progressive were worth $316,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 257.6% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 2,275 shares during the period. Boreal Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Boreal Capital Management LLC now owns 7,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,916 shares during the last quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 53.6% in the first quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 3,082 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 111.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 559,782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $110,971,000 after acquiring an additional 295,482 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 243,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $48,323,000 after purchasing an additional 4,902 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:PGR opened at $213.85 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $209.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings cut Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.11.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Progressive

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.