IPG Investment Advisors LLC Buys 21,529 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• IPG Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 43.4% in the fourth quarter, buying 21,529 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 71,131 shares worth about $16.2 million.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $4.80, beating analyst estimates of $4.67, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $22.19 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable July 10, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with a target price of $238.11.

IPG Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 43.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 71,131 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 21,529 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 2.8% of IPG Investment Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. IPG Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $16,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Progressive by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $197.00 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $200.07 and its 200-day moving average is $210.03. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $191.75 and a 12 month high of $289.96. The firm has a market cap of $115.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Six research 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 presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,928 shares of company stock valued at $831,251. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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