Kimelman & Baird LLC Invests $36,000 in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 21.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.2% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $254.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $148.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.12. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $137.59 and a 1-year high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.09%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $4,859,739.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

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.