Paragon Capital Management Inc. Takes $1.30 Million Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Paragon Capital Management opened a new position in Progressive during the first quarter, buying 6,559 shares worth about $1.3 million. The stake makes Progressive its 27th-largest holding and about 1.1% of its portfolio.
• Several Progressive insiders sold shares on June 5, including John Jo Murphy and Steven Broz, both through pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. Insider ownership is now about 0.32% of the company.
• Progressive beat quarterly EPS estimates with earnings of $4.80 per share versus $4.67 expected, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $237.58.

Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,559 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,300,000. Progressive comprises about 1.1% of Paragon Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $222.00 to $219.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Evercore reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $237.58.

Progressive Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE PGR opened at $207.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.56, a PEG ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.28. The firm's 50-day moving average is $200.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.94. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $267.92.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.03%.

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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