Benjamin Edwards Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 21.4% in Q4 to 60,046 shares, buying an additional 10,594 shares and bringing the position's value to $13.674 million.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $4.80, beating estimates by $0.13 while revenue missed at $22.19 billion, and the company posted strong profitability metrics (ROE 33.47%, net margin 12.92%).
• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" with an average target of $238.39; the stock traded near $199.60 (52‑week range $192.02–$289.96), institutional ownership is ~85%, and insiders have recently sold small amounts.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 21.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,046 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 10,594 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $13,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in Progressive by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in Progressive by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $199.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $116.76 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $203.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $212.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $192.02 and a 52-week high of $289.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.38 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PGR. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.39.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by 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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