The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock Position Boosted by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• ZWJ Investment Counsel boosted its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 7.1%, adding 14,026 shares to reach 211,047 shares valued at $48.06 million, making PGR ~1.7% of its portfolio and its 21st-largest holding.
• Quarterly results showed EPS of $4.80, beating estimates by $0.13, while revenue of $22.19 billion missed forecasts despite 6.5% year-over-year growth; analysts' consensus rating is "Hold" with a $237.50 average price target.
• Insider selling totaled 11,687 shares ($2.41 million) over the past 90 days (including sales by CAO Carl Joyce and Karen Bailo), with institutional investors owning 85.34% of the stock and insiders 0.32%.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 211,047 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,026 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 1.7% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $48,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 833.3% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 168 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,687 shares of company stock worth $2,413,044. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Citigroup reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $247.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $237.50.

Progressive Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:PGR opened at $196.57 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $192.02 and a 1-year high of $289.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released 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. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.72% and a net margin of 12.90%.The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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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