Fenimore Asset Management Inc Purchases 6,889 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Fenimore Asset Management Inc lifted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 1.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 557,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,889 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises about 2.5% of Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Fenimore Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Progressive were worth $121,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $667,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,267,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Phillips Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC now owns 1,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $436,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the company’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 directly owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $769,780.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 42,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,370,900. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $207.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $254.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $213.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.43.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on PGR. Bank of America cut their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.00.

Progressive 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.