Alera Investment Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Alera Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,185 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $245,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. Rockland Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $217,000. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Finally, First Bank & Trust increased its position in Progressive by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 12,292 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after buying an additional 2,389 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $5.18 on Friday, hitting $219.35. The stock had a trading volume of 3,207,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,601,524. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $118.75 and a 52-week high of $229.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.45.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.01 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. HSBC upped their target price on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.94.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total value of $2,546,584.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,978,003.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 7,361 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.25, for a total transaction of $1,525,567.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 35,503 shares in the company, valued at $7,357,996.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total value of $2,546,584.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,978,003.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 35,647 shares of company stock valued at $7,417,765. 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.