Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR – Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 841,308 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 21,550 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $166,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $231.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.74.
Progressive Stock Down 3.7%
NYSE PGR opened at $225.89 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.80. The stock has a market cap of $131.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.26.
Progressive (NYSE:PGR – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Progressive Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued 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 of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.03%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Progressive news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.
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.
Read More
- Five stocks we like better than Progressive
- Why Fastenal’s Latest Drop Could Be Its Biggest Opportunity Yet
- 3 Overlooked Energy ETFs Delivering Strong Returns and Income
- 3 Space Stocks That Could Outshine SpaceX After Its IPO
- JPMorgan’s Q2 Strength Gives the Stock Rally New Support
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Progressive Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Progressive and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
