82,820 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Bought by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 82,820 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,092,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

PGR opened at $219.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.64. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Mizuho set a $236.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.05.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $769,780.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 42,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,370,900. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,242 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $476,895.82. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,583,637.50. The trade was a 7.87% 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. Insiders have sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Company 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.