Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC Invests $25.47 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Wilkinson Global Asset Management purchased 116,606 Progressive shares worth approximately $25.47 million, making PGR its 19th-largest holding and representing 2% of its portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the company.
• Progressive reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.67 per share versus the $4.64 consensus estimate and revenue of $23.61 billion, up 5% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with a $235 price target.
• The insurer declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equal to a $0.40 annualized payout and a 0.2% yield, while insiders sold approximately $15.88 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 116,606 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,473,000. Progressive comprises 2.0% of Wilkinson Global Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $719,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $658,955,000. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,086,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Finally, Summit Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,299,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $209.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $121.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $254.93. The business's 50 day moving average is $214.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $206.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Mizuho set a $236.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.00.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $769,780.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,595 shares in the company, valued at $9,370,900. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total transaction of $1,727,974.80. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,291 shares in the company, valued at $8,782,595.70. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive 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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