Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,907 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,720 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $10,782,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth about $3,628,000. TCW Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $1,988,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $3,090,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 66.4% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 90.4% during the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,354,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $259.24 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $234.16 and its 200 day moving average is $217.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $137.59 and a 52 week high of $260.46. The stock has a market cap of $151.84 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 9,512 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.50, for a total transaction of $2,259,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 45,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,874,412.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 143,654 shares of company stock worth $32,727,488 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given 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.

About Progressive

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.