Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Buys New Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Coronation Fund Managers established a new position in The Progressive Corporation in Q4, buying 7,551 shares valued at about $1.72 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 85.34% of the stock.
• Insiders have sold 6,933 shares worth $1.44 million in the past 90 days—including Maribel Pumarejo (739 shares at $203.25) and Karen Bailo (3,517 shares at $212)—leaving insiders with just 0.32% ownership.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $4.80, beating estimates by $0.13 while revenue of $22.19 billion missed expectations; the stock trades near $200 with a market cap of $117.35 billion, a P/E of 10.20, and a 0.2% dividend yield.

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. bought a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 7,551 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 3.8% in the third quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 20.8% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 279 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564 in the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $200.62 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $192.02 and a 52-week high of $289.96. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $203.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.37 EPS. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on PGR. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Mizuho cut their price target on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.39.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.