10,600 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Bought by Westerkirk Capital Inc.

Key Points

• Westerkirk Capital opened a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter, buying 10,600 shares worth about $2.41 million.
• Several other hedge funds also increased their Progressive holdings, and institutional investors now own 85.34% of the company’s stock.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected EPS of $4.80 in its latest quarter, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share payable July 10.

Westerkirk Capital Inc. purchased a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 10,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,414,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.11.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $200.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $117.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $198.84 and its 200-day moving average is $208.58. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $278.71.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.

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