Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 37.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 179,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 106,170 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $40,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its stake in Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $259.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Six 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $204.27 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $283.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $198.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.87. The company has a market cap of $119.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 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 of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

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.