Empowered Funds LLC Has $14.31 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 147.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,393 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,576 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $14,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.56.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 13.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. This represents a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,331 shares of company stock valued at $16,415,812. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $260.35 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $251.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $229.29. The firm has a market cap of $152.52 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $149.14 and a one year high of $263.85.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Company 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.