Cibc World Market Inc. Boosts Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,748 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,284 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Market Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $19,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank increased its position in shares of Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $247.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.11.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $204.27 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $119.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $198.89 and its 200 day moving average is $208.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $283.95.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. Progressive’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.03%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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.