Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Sells 8,361 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut its stake in Progressive by 46.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,361 shares and leaving it with 9,687 shares worth about $2.2 million.
• Progressive reported first-quarter earnings of $4.80 per share, topping analyst estimates, though revenue of $22.19 billion came in below expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and continues its buyback focus, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $238.39.

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,687 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,361 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft's holdings in Progressive were worth $2,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,381,000 after purchasing an additional 23,833 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1,614.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $5,334,000 after purchasing an additional 20,338 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in Progressive by 471.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,556,000 after buying an additional 18,558 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its position in Progressive by 36.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 19,240 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,752,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,063,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Progressive from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, HSBC lowered Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.39.

Key Stories Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Progressive continued its shareholder-return program by declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, reinforcing management’s commitment to returning capital to investors. Progressive stock overview
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted Progressive’s CFO transition alongside an ongoing buyback plan, which suggests management is still focused on disciplined capital allocation and supporting shareholder value. Does Progressive’s (PGR) CFO Transition and Buyback Plan Reveal a Deeper Capital Allocation Strategy?
• Neutral Sentiment: The dividend announcement is small in absolute terms and appears to be a standard, expected update, so it is unlikely to materially change near-term fundamentals on its own.
• Negative Sentiment: With no new earnings beat or guidance raise in the latest headlines, the stock may be under pressure from broader profit-taking and investor focus on valuation after a strong prior run.

Progressive Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $196.09 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $201.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.58 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $191.75 and a fifty-two week high of $289.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564 over the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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