J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,108 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Progressive by 237.8% in the fourth quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,883 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 4,545.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after purchasing an additional 690,060 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Progressive by 548.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 686,433 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.7% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after buying an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $116,852,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total transaction of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,742,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $257.69 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $150.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $137.59 and a 1 year high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

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.