Brown Advisory Inc. Has $670.53 Million Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its stake in Progressive by 10% in the fourth quarter, but still held 2.94 million shares worth about $670.5 million, making PGR its 23rd-largest holding.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $4.80, beating expectations, while revenue came in at $22.19 billion and rose 6.5% year over year. Analysts still expect the company to earn $16.35 per share for the full year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share to be paid July 10, and Wall Street currently has an average Hold rating with a consensus price target of $238.11.

Brown Advisory Inc. lessened its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,944,493 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 328,781 shares during the period. Progressive comprises 0.9% of Brown Advisory Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 0.50% of Progressive worth $670,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Klingman & Associates LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $667,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its stake in Progressive by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 18,736 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $4,267,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,343 shares of company stock valued at $1,470,355. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $202.86 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $199.20 and a 200-day moving average of $208.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $269.84. The firm has a market cap of $118.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.11.

About Progressive

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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