Barbara Oil Co. Buys Shares of 11,600 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Barbara Oil Co. acquired 11,600 shares of Progressive worth approximately $2.62 million, while institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Progressive has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $236.05, though some firms recently upgraded the stock and raised their targets.
• Progressive reported quarterly earnings of $5.67 per share, beating estimates by $1.03, with revenue of $23.61 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

Barbara Oil Co. bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,620,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $436,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in Progressive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 4,307 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $981,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.4% during the second quarter. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.05.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $7,942,165.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 522,776 shares in the company, valued at $111,199,682.96. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at $8,908,847.43. This trade 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $219.45 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $252.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $127.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $215.53 and a 200-day moving average of $206.66.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

About Progressive

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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