Tortoise Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 0.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total transaction of $1,439,833.18. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at $7,600,400.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 103,984 shares of company stock valued at $22,564,766 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $237.24.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $251.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.81, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. 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 Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $133.15 and a fifty-two week high of $254.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.09 and a 200-day moving average of $211.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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