The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 30.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 403,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 93,776 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $79,926,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America reduced 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.11.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $215.61 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $210.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market cap of $125.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

About Progressive

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.