The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock Position Boosted by Weik Capital Management

Weik Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,517 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 7.6% of Weik Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Weik Capital Management’s holdings in Progressive were worth $20,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $353,906,000. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $185,761,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $204.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 5.66 and a beta of 0.28. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $283.95. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $198.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.87.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $259.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $247.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.