30,245 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Purchased by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Key Points

• Aware Super Pty Ltd opened a new position in Progressive, buying 30,245 shares valued at about $6.0 million in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership in Progressive remains high, with several large investors adjusting stakes and 85.34% of the stock now held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Progressive continues to draw mixed analyst sentiment after earnings: some firms raised or reaffirmed targets, but others cut price targets, leaving the stock with a Hold consensus and an average target of $235.05.

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 30,245 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,996,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Allstate Corp increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,136,000 after acquiring an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 97,275 shares during the period. Investment House LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $8,447,000. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Progressive by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $173,429,000 after buying an additional 9,017 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders 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.

Progressive News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive's quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $235.05.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $207.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.50. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.37 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.03%.

Progressive Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.