AMF Tjanstepension AB Has $122.85 Million Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB more than doubled its stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter, buying 277,354 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 539,475 shares worth about $122.85 million.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.80 per share, though revenue came in below analyst estimates; analysts still expect the company to earn 16.4 EPS for the full year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share payable July 10, while analysts currently have an overall Hold rating on the stock with a consensus price target of $238.39.

AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 105.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 539,475 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 277,354 shares during the quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned 0.09% of Progressive worth $122,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviance Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 23,103 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,261,000 after purchasing an additional 5,575 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 131,465 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,937,000 after buying an additional 5,298 shares in the last quarter. Verde Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Verde Capital Management now owns 18,502 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,213,000 after buying an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 8,104 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 434 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Up 2.1%

Progressive stock opened at $203.91 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $200.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.40. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $191.75 and a fifty-two week high of $289.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 5.77 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.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.4 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays set a $247.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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