Henson Edgewater Management LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Henson Edgewater Management LLC bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 7,744 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,606,000. Progressive accounts for about 0.9% of Henson Edgewater Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $76,260,000. Allstate Corp boosted its stake in Progressive by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,447,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,025,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,449 shares of company stock worth $17,685,203. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of PGR opened at $218.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $249.83. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.23.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $228.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.26.

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.