Simplicity Wealth LLC Invests $1.53 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,018 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,533,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allstate Corp grew its position in shares of Progressive by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,136,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $8,447,000. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Progressive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,429,000 after acquiring an additional 9,017 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $353,906,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $476,895.82. Following the sale, the executive owned 26,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,583,637.50. The trade was a 7.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 522,776 shares in the company, valued at $111,199,682.96. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $209.48 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho set a $236.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.00.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.