Madison Asset Management LLC Invests $73.91 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 338,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $73,911,000. Madison Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of Progressive as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 12.0% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $7,942,165.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 4.9%

NYSE PGR opened at $217.28 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $214.84 and its 200-day moving average is $206.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.47 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. 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 payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho set a $236.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $234.11.

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.