Bayforest Capital Ltd Buys 1,330 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 234.6% in Q1, owning 1,897 shares valued at $537,000 at the end of the quarter.
• Several analysts have downgraded Progressive's stock rating recently, with UBS lowering its price target from $280.00 to $268.00 and Morgan Stanley reducing theirs from $290.00 to $280.00.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 per share for the quarter ending July 16, exceeding expectations, and declared a $0.10 dividend per share, reflecting a yield of 0.15%.

Bayforest Capital Ltd boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 234.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,897 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after acquiring an additional 710,684 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,677 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,433,722,000 after acquiring an additional 915,643 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,521,545 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,323,018,000 after acquiring an additional 153,044 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,447,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,305,262,000 after acquiring an additional 337,146 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $552,814.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 47,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PGR stock traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $240.98. 3,201,172 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,755,347. The firm has a market cap of $141.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $208.13 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.02.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 15.0%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Progressive Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.