8,062,944 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Purchased by Norges Bank

Key Points

• Norges Bank initiated a major new position in Progressive, buying 8,062,944 shares valued at about $1.84 billion and owning roughly 1.37% of the insurer.
• Progressive reported strong quarterly earnings of $4.80 per share, beating estimates, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $22.19 billion.
• The company’s stock was down about 2.2% and opened at $190.27, while analysts still view it cautiously with a Hold consensus target of $238.11.

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,062,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.37% of Progressive as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Progressive by 30.2% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,381,000 after buying an additional 23,833 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp boosted its holdings in Progressive by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its holdings in Progressive by 36.9% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 19,240 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,752,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 7.9% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 644,636 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $159,183,000 after purchasing an additional 47,248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 5.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 3,928 shares of company stock worth $831,251 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of PGR opened at $190.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $111.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.67, a PEG ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $289.96. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $199.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.74.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.Progressive's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.11.

Progressive 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.

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