Barrett & Company Inc. Raises Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1,500.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 176 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Barrett & Company Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $47,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after acquiring an additional 622,590 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 61.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.2% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,828 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $1,473,180,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $246.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $144.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.86, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $260.84. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PGR. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $279.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Profile

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.