Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,007,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $875,465,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on PGR shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Mizuho set a $236.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.05.

Progressive Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $223.87 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $215.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $249.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 83,449 shares of company stock worth $17,685,203. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.