OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Invests $8.23 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 37,673 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,230,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at $27,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $226.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.05.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $223.87 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $215.94 and its 200 day moving average is $206.82. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $249.83. The stock has a market cap of $130.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.