The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Acquired by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Balentine LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 22,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,530,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in Progressive by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,438 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.8% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 8,560 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,770,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total transaction of $2,546,584.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,978,003.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total transaction of $2,546,584.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,978,003.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total value of $2,104,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,742,363.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,518 shares of company stock worth $7,159,674. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $1.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $213.30. 2,264,914 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,566,207. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.41 and a fifty-two week high of $217.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $209.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.71. The company has a market cap of $124.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 11.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $276.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.50.

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.