Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 66,458 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,518,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth $76,260,000. Allstate Corp increased its position in shares of Progressive by 106.1% in the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $8,447,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter worth about $3,025,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 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 transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 83,449 shares of company stock worth $17,685,203 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $222.36 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $129.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $249.83. The business's 50-day moving average price is $216.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $207.04.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given 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 currently 2.01%.

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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