Advisors Preferred LLC Acquires New Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Advisors Preferred LLC opened a new position in The Progressive Corporation, buying 26,412 shares in Q4 worth about $5.60 million, which represents ~0.9% of the fund and is its 27th-largest holding.
• Progressive recently reported EPS of $4.80 (beat consensus of $4.67) but revenue of $22.19 billion missed estimates of $23.51 billion, with a return on equity of 33.47% and net margin of 12.92%.
• Analyst consensus is a "Hold" (6 Buy / 14 Hold / 2 Sell) with a consensus price target of $238.39, after recent downgrades and target cuts from several firms including HSBC, Mizuho and Morgan Stanley.

Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 26,412 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,603,000. Progressive comprises approximately 0.9% of Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Progressive in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Progressive by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in Progressive by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Progressive from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.39.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,062.50. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,857,776. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $199.60 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $116.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $192.02 and a 1-year high of $289.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $203.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.01.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.03%.

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.

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