Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 3,900 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 106.6% during the third 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 bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.11.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $204.12 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $198.93 and a 200-day moving average of $208.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $269.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% 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. Insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,355 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.