DRW Securities LLC Buys 1,348 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 98.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,714 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,348 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $563,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,703,318,000 after buying an additional 285,070 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Progressive by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after buying an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Progressive by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,885,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $778,199,000 after buying an additional 19,724 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,577,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $569,861,000 after acquiring an additional 86,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,392,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $497,003,000 after acquiring an additional 69,709 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $257.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.97 and its 200 day moving average is $217.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $150.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.37, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $137.59 and a 12-month high of $260.46.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $850,689.75. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 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 $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 151,350 shares of company stock valued at $34,691,584 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Roth Mkm raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

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.