The Progressive Corporation $PGR is Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s Largest Position

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,017 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for approximately 17.6% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Progressive were worth $173,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in Progressive by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho lowered their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Six 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $199.28 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $191.75 and a twelve month high of $289.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $200.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.26. The company has a market capitalization of $116.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,667 shares of company stock worth $981,453. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.