Bayforest Capital Ltd Increases Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 234.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,289,037,000 after purchasing an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,828 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 18.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 915,643 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:PGR opened at $243.27 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $142.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $265.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays cut their price objective on Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $284.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $556,230.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,724 shares in the company, valued at $11,466,664.72. The trade was a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.