RNC Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• RNC Capital Management acquired a new stake of 5,197 shares in The Progressive Corporation during Q4, valued at about $1.18 million according to the firm's 13F filing.
• Progressive reported Q1 EPS of $4.80, beating estimates by $0.13, while revenue of $22.19 billion missed expectations; the company posted a 12.92% net margin and a 33.47% return on equity with revenue up 6.5% year-over-year.
• The stock trades at a P/E of 10.14 with a market cap of roughly $116.7 billion, a 0.2% dividend yield, 85.34% institutional ownership, recent insider selling of about $1.44 million, and an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $238.39 price target.

RNC Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,183,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $199.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $192.02 and a fifty-two week high of $289.96. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $212.01. The company has a market cap of $116.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.14, a P/E/G ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. Progressive's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.38 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on PGR. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus raised shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.39.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total transaction of $460,111.30. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,330,062.50. The trade was a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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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