Investment Management Corp of Ontario Buys 16,552 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 63.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,440 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,552 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Progressive were worth $11,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Progressive by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Progressive by 20.8% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 5.4% in the second quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $222.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $130.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $243.86.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 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 is Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. HSBC set a $259.00 price objective on shares of Progressive and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $261.00 to $232.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $266.52.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the transaction, the insider owned 43,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,005. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Company Profile

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.