LRI Investments LLC Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 16.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $76,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,876,384.69. This represents a 33.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,626,840. The trade was a 9.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $247.30 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $149.14 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $254.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays lifted their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.69.

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.