Johnson Financial Group Inc. Increases Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Johnson Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 16.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,059 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,833 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Progressive by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,481,615,000 after buying an additional 4,197,212 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 19,724.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $806,614,000 after buying an additional 4,048,351 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 193.2% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,206,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $502,519,000 after acquiring an additional 1,454,111 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.05.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $212.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $123.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $209.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.22. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% 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 90 days, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.