Lazard Asset Management LLC Grows Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 30.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 403,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 93,776 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Progressive worth $79,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Klingman & Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,267,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.11.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $215.61 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $254.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.81, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $210.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.89.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.01%.

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.