19,149 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Purchased by Gator Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Gator Capital Management opened a new position in Progressive, buying 19,149 shares worth about $4.36 million in the fourth quarter.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their stakes, and overall institutional ownership stands at 85.34% of Progressive’s stock.
• Progressive reported Q1 EPS of $4.80, beating estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a Hold with a consensus price target of $238.11.

Gator Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,149 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,361,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. boosted its stake in Progressive by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,267,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. The trade was a 3.88% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.11.

Progressive Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $202.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $199.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $269.84. The stock has a market cap of $118.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. Progressive's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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