Johnson Financial Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Johnson Financial Group increased its stake in Progressive by 16.5% in Q1, adding 4,833 shares to reach 34,059 shares valued at about $6.75 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted or initiated positions, and hedge funds and other institutions now own 85.34% of Progressive’s stock.
• Insiders have recently been selling shares, while analysts remain mostly cautious: the stock has a Hold consensus rating with an average price target of $235.05, and shares were trading around $212.09.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,059 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,833 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Progressive by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,481,615,000 after buying an additional 4,197,212 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 19,724.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $806,614,000 after buying an additional 4,048,351 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $353,906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Progressive by 193.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,206,742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $502,519,000 after buying an additional 1,454,111 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This represents a 4.04% 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 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $235.05.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $212.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $123.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $209.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.22. 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 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.01%.

About Progressive

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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