Norges Bank Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 8,062,944 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,094,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Progressive by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,381,000 after buying an additional 23,833 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Progressive by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,136,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its holdings in Progressive by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 19,240 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,752,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 644,636 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $159,183,000 after acquiring an additional 47,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,807,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $411,506,000 after acquiring an additional 97,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Argus raised Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.11.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $190.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $289.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.74. The stock has a market cap of $111.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,928 shares of company stock valued at $831,251. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.