Polianta Ltd Buys Shares of 7,600 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Polianta Ltd purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,506,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Progressive by 78.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Progressive by 181.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,481,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,212 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Progressive by 26.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,906,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $313.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.58.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $204.42 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 Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $267.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $200.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.88 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive 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 directly owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: May results showed stronger earnings momentum, with higher premiums, investment income, and underwriting performance helping drive a 36% year-over-year earnings increase. Progressive’s May Earnings Increase Y/Y on Higher Investment Income
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America kept a Buy rating on Progressive despite trimming its price target, which still implies meaningful upside from current levels. Progressive price target lowered by Bank of America Corporation
• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target for Progressive, signaling continued confidence in the company’s outlook. Progressive price target raised by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods
• Neutral Sentiment: Progressive is getting attention from investors and appears on undervalued-stock screens, but these are more sentiment-driven than company-specific catalysts. 5 Most Undervalued NYSE Stocks to Invest In
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain split on Progressive, with conflicting views highlighting uncertainty around valuation and future earnings durability. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Financial Companies: Progressive (PGR) and Open Lending (LPRO)

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.