Dougherty & Associates LLC Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Dougherty & Associates LLC opened a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter, buying 10,888 shares valued at about $2.48 million. The stake represents roughly 2.2% of the firm’s holdings and its 12th-largest position.
• Progressive’s latest quarterly results beat EPS expectations, reporting $4.80 per share versus the $4.67 estimate, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $22.19 billion. Analysts now expect full-year earnings of $16.4 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus Hold rating with a consensus price target of $238.39. Shares recently traded around $199.83, below the average target and near the lower end of their 52-week range.

Dougherty & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 10,888 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,480,000. Progressive makes up about 2.2% of Dougherty & Associates LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,381,000 after buying an additional 23,833 shares during the period. Allstate Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1,614.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 471.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,556,000 after buying an additional 18,558 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 19,240 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,752,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,063,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Progressive from $227.00 to $210.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.39.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $199.83 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $191.75 and a fifty-two week high of $289.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $210.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $116.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 26,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Company 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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