KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

KBC Group NV grew its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 39.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 674,096 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 189,865 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Progressive were worth $179,889,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.4% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $219.73 on Wednesday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $128.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $232.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $251.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,724 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,466,664.72. This represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,500 shares of company stock worth $14,430,089. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $312.00 to $301.38 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.90.

Progressive Profile

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