Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 21,307 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 21,307 shares to bring its total holding to 213,865 shares worth about $48.7 million.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected earnings of $4.80 per share for the quarter, topping estimates, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $22.19 billion.
• The insurer also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $238.11.

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,865 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,307 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $48,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Progressive by 78.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after acquiring an additional 6,045,732 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $353,906,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $185,761,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

PGR opened at $204.12 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $269.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28. The company's 50-day moving average is $198.93 and its 200 day moving average is $208.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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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