Johnson Financial Group Inc. Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 36,691 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,015,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 4.9%

NYSE:PGR opened at $217.28 on Thursday. 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 Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $254.93. The company has a market cap of $126.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.27. The company’s 50 day moving average is $214.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.46.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho set a $236.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $234.11.

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.