Bank of America Corp DE Invests $2.68 Billion in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,278,975 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,682,342,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 2.11% of Progressive as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $225.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total value of $8,195,691.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 485,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $106,553,641. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,714 shares of company stock valued at $24,466,294. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $220.82 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $128.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $249.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $216.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Progressive Profile

Progressive Corporation, founded in 1937 and headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio, is an insurance company that primarily serves customers in the United States. The company is best known for its personal and commercial auto insurance businesses and distributes products through independent agents, direct channels and digital platforms.

Progressive offers a broad range of insurance products, including coverage for automobiles, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles, homes and renters.

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