The Progressive Corporation $PGR is Marshfield Associates' 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Marshfield Associates increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 70.8% in Q3 to 1,577,453 shares, making PGR its 6th-largest holding (about 6.7% of the fund) valued at roughly $389.6 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $241.94 (7 Buy, 14 Hold, 1 Sell), and several firms have trimmed targets or downgraded the stock.
• Insiders have been net sellers—12,761 shares (~$2.66M) sold in the past 90 days (insiders own 0.33%)—and the company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 (annualized $0.40, yield 0.2%, ex-dividend April 2).

Marshfield Associates raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,577,453 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 653,763 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 6.7% of Marshfield Associates' investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Marshfield Associates owned 0.27% of Progressive worth $389,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the third quarter worth $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 450.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 196 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. William Blair cut shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $230.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.94.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $634,506.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 26,249 shares in the company, valued at $5,363,983.15. This represents a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 12,761 shares of company stock valued at $2,659,420 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.3%

PGR opened at $204.60 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $206.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.02. The company has a market capitalization of $119.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.63, a PEG ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $197.92 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.08%.

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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