Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Grows Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,635 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,030 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $19,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. HSBC increased their price objective on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.05.

Progressive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive’s quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $207.73 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.50. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. Progressive’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

About Progressive

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.