Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Acquires 14,501 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Basswood Capital Management boosted its stake in Progressive by 63.3% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 14,501 shares and bringing its total holdings to 37,427 shares worth about $8.5 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Progressive has a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $238.11, while several firms recently adjusted targets and ratings, including Morgan Stanley’s underweight call.
• The company reported better-than-expected EPS of $4.80 in its latest quarter and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable July 10, though revenue came in below expectations.

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 63.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,427 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,501 shares during the quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PGR. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.11.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.3%

PGR stock opened at $202.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $269.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.05.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors 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 yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.03%.

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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