Sycomore Asset Management Invests $13.07 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Sycomore Asset Management bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 51,770 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $13,066,000. Progressive makes up about 1.8% of Sycomore Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $202.41 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.09. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $269.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

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.