73,677 Shares in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Acquired by ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V.

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in The Progressive Corporation, purchasing 73,677 shares valued at approximately $20.85 million.
• Insider sales were notable, with CEO Susan Patricia Griffith selling 30,660 shares for over $7.4 million, reflecting a 5.70% decrease in her ownership.
• The Progressive Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.88, surpassing estimates, with a revenue of $20.08 billion, which was slightly below expectations.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 73,677 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $20,852,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Progressive by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 16,928 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,791,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $720,000. Hemington Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 5.8% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 907 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $845,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after acquiring an additional 622,590 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,832,701.76. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Progressive Stock Up 0.7%

Progressive stock traded up $1.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $246.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 114,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,245,735. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $217.91 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The firm's 50 day moving average is $257.56 and its 200 day moving average is $266.03. The company has a market cap of $144.75 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

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.