Vest Financial LLC Purchases 51,187 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 146.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 86,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 51,187 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $21,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $306,000. Allstate Corp boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1,614.1% in the 3rd quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,334,000 after purchasing an additional 20,338 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Progressive by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,159,000 after buying an additional 4,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC increased its position in Progressive by 91.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,892,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $259.39.

Progressive Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $202.54 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $118.77 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $221.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.79. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $198.50 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,924,379.20. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock worth $2,047,481 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

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.