MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Purchases New Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 29,916 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,535,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PGR. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Mizuho set a $236.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.26.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 83,449 shares of company stock valued at $17,685,203 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $217.51 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $216.90 and a 200 day moving average of $207.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $126.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $249.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.