Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $238.31 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,045,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 93,856 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $238,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,343 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,355. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus raised shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.11.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $204.70 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.60. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $267.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Progressive 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.