Commerce Bank Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Commerce Bank acquired 82,820 Progressive shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $18.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of PGR’s outstanding stock.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $5.67, exceeding estimates of $4.64, while revenue rose 5% year over year to $23.61 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $236.05, while insiders have sold 82,224 shares worth roughly $17.4 million over the past three months.

Commerce Bank acquired a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 82,820 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $18,092,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,267,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 2.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in Progressive by 1.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:PGR opened at $219.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $127.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $215.53 and a 200 day moving average of $206.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $252.82.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 earnings per share. Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors 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 yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $236.05.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at $8,908,847.43. The trade was a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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