UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Buys 410,326 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 6.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,784,205 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 410,326 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,482,010,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $218.90 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $127.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $249.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $217.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.23.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.Progressive’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st 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%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 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 $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.26.

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.