Czech National Bank Boosts Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Czech National Bank increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 6.5% in Q2, bringing its total holdings to 143,294 shares valued at approximately $38.24 million.
• Insiders have sold over 139,000 shares of Progressive stock during the last three months, indicating a decrease in their positions, with notable sales by Patrick K. Callahan and Lori A. Niederst.
• Progressive's latest quarterly earnings surpassed expectations with an EPS of $4.88, and the company announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend, reflecting a low payout ratio of 2.25%.

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 143,294 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 8,742 shares during the period. Czech National Bank's holdings in Progressive were worth $38,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Progressive from $344.00 to $347.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI downgraded Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $284.82.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE PGR opened at $245.45 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $246.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $143.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

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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