Front Street Capital Management Inc. Purchases 2,956 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Front Street Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 133.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,164 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,956 shares during the quarter. Front Street Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allstate Corp boosted its stake in Progressive by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,447,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,807,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $411,506,000 after buying an additional 97,275 shares during the period. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $173,429,000 after buying an additional 9,017 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $769,780.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 3.1%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $213.09 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $211.09 and its 200-day moving average is $206.01. The stock has a market cap of $124.52 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.01%.

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.