Patton Fund Management Inc. Purchases New Shares in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,194,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aspire Private Capital LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth about $18,597,800,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Exos TFP Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 270.0% in the first quarter. Exos TFP Holdings LLC now owns 222 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Horan Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 588.6% during the first quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arlington Partners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 47.1% in the first quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.51, for a total value of $1,518,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 309,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,155,730.57. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.51, for a total value of $1,518,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 309,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,155,730.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Barbara R. Snyder sold 21,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,892,178.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,610 shares in the company, valued at $879,724.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 74,801 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,244. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $140.60. 141,384 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,679,051. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $82.30 billion, a PE ratio of 48.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.47. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $110.04 and a 12-month high of $149.87.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.38). Progressive had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 3.12%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.24 billion. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 4.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 5th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 13.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $198.00 to $206.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $114.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.93.

Progressive Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, 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.