Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Purchases 6,844 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 21.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,008 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,844 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up approximately 1.8% of Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,521,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,584,067,000 after purchasing an additional 593,612 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Progressive by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,527 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,375,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $208.84 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $214.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.42 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.27. 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 fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $476,895.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,583,637.50. The trade was a 7.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $769,780.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 42,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,370,900. This trade represents a 7.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 74,885 shares of company stock valued at $15,880,459 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. HSBC increased their target price on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. 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 report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $235.00.

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.