Winmill & CO. Inc. Invests $17.21 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Winmill & CO. Inc. acquired 78,765 Progressive shares worth approximately $17.21 million in the second quarter, making PGR about 3.8% of its portfolio and its ninth-largest holding.
• Progressive reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $5.67 per share versus the $4.64 consensus and revenue of $23.61 billion, up 5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally cautious outlook: Progressive has an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $236.05, while insiders sold $17.4 million in shares over the past 90 days.

Winmill & CO. Inc. 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 SEC. The institutional investor purchased 78,765 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,206,000. Progressive comprises approximately 3.8% of Winmill & CO. Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth about $76,260,000. Allstate Corp grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,447,000. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $173,429,000 after purchasing an additional 9,017 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $219.45 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $215.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st 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 is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $7,942,165.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,880,743.08. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438 in the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on PGR. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC boosted their target price on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.05.

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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