Liberty Capital Management Inc. Buys New Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Liberty Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,586,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $209.48 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $121.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.51, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $214.36 and its 200-day moving average is $206.47. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,782,595.70. This trade represents a 16.44% 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 a total of 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $236.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Five equities research 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, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.00.

Progressive Company 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.