Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 3,900 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 13.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,142 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $204.12 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $119.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $198.93 and a 200 day moving average of $208.26. 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 Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $269.84.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $259.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.11.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.