Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 29.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,385 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 119.6% in 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 last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.12.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $256.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $137.59 and a one year high of $260.46. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.53. The stock has a market cap of $150.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Progressive Company 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.