The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stake Lowered by Weik Capital Management

Weik Capital Management reduced its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 90,410 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 8.0% of Weik Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Weik Capital Management’s holdings in Progressive were worth $18,779,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 2,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,534 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $307,000. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $709,000. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,833,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. HSBC raised 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $252.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 147,354 shares of company stock valued at $33,502,680 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $255.46 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $134.34 and a 52 week high of $256.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $229.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $149.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Progressive 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.