Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Raises Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 136.1%, owning 31,566 shares worth approximately $8.93 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• The Progressive Corporation reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.43, with a revenue increase of 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company also declared a dividend of $0.10, with a yield of 15.0%, indicating a healthy return for shareholders amidst recent trading activity.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 136.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,566 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 18,196 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Progressive were worth $8,934,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 39,285.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,046,037 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $862,059,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038,303 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Progressive by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,677 shares in the last quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S increased its position in Progressive by 12,110.3% during the 1st quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 1,248,628 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $353,374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,238,402 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 18.1% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,433,722,000 after purchasing an additional 915,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Progressive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,480,677,000 after purchasing an additional 710,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $241.88 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.79 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $208.13 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.88.

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.

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