Meridian Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 301 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $244.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $143.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $255.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $266.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $220.33 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Barclays reduced their price target on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Evercore ISI downgraded Progressive from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $283.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $1,041,520.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,289 shares in the company, valued at $10,750,829.82. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.