Bank of Nova Scotia Purchases Shares of 347,340 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia acquired 347,340 shares of Progressive in the second quarter, valued at approximately $76.3 million, while institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive reported quarterly earnings of $5.67 per share, beating estimates of $4.64, while revenue reached $23.61 billion and rose 5% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $236.05; Progressive also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 347,340 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $76,260,000. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.06% of Progressive as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at about $10,496,271,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $1,836,094,000. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth approximately $1,538,570,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth approximately $1,098,838,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 181.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,481,615,000 after acquiring an additional 4,197,212 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $219.45 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $252.82. The business's 50-day moving average price is $215.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.40 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. Seven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.05.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

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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