San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 1,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,628,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 66.4% during the 1st 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. Diversified Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 84.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 25,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,531,000 after purchasing an additional 11,770 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its position in shares of Progressive by 90.4% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,354,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $1,890,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $251.72 on Friday. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $244.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.14. The firm has a market cap of $147.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $142.07 and a 1 year high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 3.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,383.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock valued at $33,912,874. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Bank of America upped their target price on Progressive from $309.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.53.

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.