Berkley W R Corp Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Berkley W R Corp acquired a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 207,589 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $45,348,000. Progressive comprises approximately 2.2% of Berkley W R Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 235.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% 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, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $769,780.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 42,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,370,900. The trade was 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $222.36 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $216.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.04. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $249.83. The company has a market capitalization of $129.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The firm 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 for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho set a $236.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $226.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.05.

Progressive 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.