The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 19.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 86,011 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,850 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $18,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,584,067,000 after purchasing an additional 593,612 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after acquiring an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Progressive by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,527 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,375,706,000 after purchasing an additional 1,092,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $1,836,094,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 74,885 shares of company stock valued at $15,880,459 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.00.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $207.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $213.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.43.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.01%.

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.