Primecap Management Co. CA Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,003,280 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $219,167,000. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.17% of Progressive at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.05.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $221.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $128.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $216.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.94. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $249.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.72 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.40, for a total transaction of $268,765.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 31,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,785.80. The trade was a 3.77% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 83,449 shares of company stock worth $17,685,203. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Company 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.