Fiduciary Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,499 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 55 shares during the quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. United Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $1,084,000. Winslow Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Winslow Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,885,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $778,199,000 after purchasing an additional 19,724 shares during the period. Nepc LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $15,919,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 2,555 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $254.09 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 Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $142.87 and a 12 month high of $260.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average is $245.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.47.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 3.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $319.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $260.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,626,840. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.