AGF Management Ltd. Acquires 4,841 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

AGF Management Ltd. increased its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,477 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,841 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 10.4% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.2% during the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its stake in Progressive by 8.2% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $249.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $227.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.07. The stock has a market cap of $146.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $134.34 and a 12 month high of $254.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.19 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,354 shares of company stock worth $33,502,680. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.