Inspire Advisors LLC Takes $531,000 Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,094 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter worth about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Hilltop National Bank lifted its stake in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter worth about $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $251.08 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $149.14 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $147.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $248.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $224.05.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 144,383 shares of company stock worth $33,446,453. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Barclays started coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.81.

Progressive 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.