Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 21.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,586 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $56,832,701.76. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,313 shares of company stock valued at $28,349,549 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $247.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $253.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.25. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $228.54 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $144.81 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $312.00 target price on the stock. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $284.88.

About Progressive

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.