Councilmark Asset Management LLC Invests $1.97 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,015 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,969,000. Progressive accounts for about 1.0% of Councilmark Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth $935,172,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $310,764,000. EFG International AG acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $241,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $3,436,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth about $42,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.05.

Progressive Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $221.77 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $249.83. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.94. The firm has a market cap of $128.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 83,449 shares of company stock worth $17,685,203. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.