Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys New Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 45,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $9,860,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the first 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. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares in the company, valued at $111,199,682.96. The trade was a 6.67% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $219.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $252.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $215.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.66.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results 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 company 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 earned $5.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders 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 yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $226.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Seven 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 presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.05.

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.