Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Invests $11.92 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 54,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,923,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.8% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 12.0% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $9,370,900. This represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,885 shares of company stock worth $15,880,459. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $209.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The company has a market cap of $121.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $214.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.47.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

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.