Johnson Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Johnson Financial Group purchased 36,691 shares of Progressive worth approximately $8.0 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings per share of $5.67 versus the $4.64 consensus estimate and revenue of $23.61 billion, up 5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $234.11, while insiders sold 82,224 shares worth $17.4 million over the past 90 days.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 36,691 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,015,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 700.0% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,291 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,595.70. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. This trade represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438 over the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.11.

Progressive Stock Up 4.9%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $217.28 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.32 billion, a PE ratio of 10.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.46. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.47 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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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