Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Makes New $1.64 Million Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC invested $1.64 million in The Progressive Corporation, acquiring 6,143 shares during the second quarter.
• Progressive reported a $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing expectations of $5.04, while revenue was $21.38 billion, falling short of projected revenue.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, resulting in a 0.2% annualized dividend yield.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,143 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,639,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $545,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Progressive by 13.4% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the first quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, GenTrust LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3.5% in the first quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $349,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.2%

PGR opened at $221.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $244.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.46. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $217.20 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $262.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $276.96.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This trade represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 43,506 shares in the company, valued at $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 128,778 shares of company stock valued at $31,683,756 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.