Danske Bank A S Takes $1.04 Million Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Danske Bank acquired 4,741 Progressive shares worth approximately $1.04 million in the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 85.34% of Progressive.
• Progressive reported quarterly earnings of $5.67 per share, exceeding estimates of $4.64, while revenue rose 5% year over year to $23.61 billion.
• Insiders sold 82,224 shares worth $17.4 million during the last quarter. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, with an average price target of $236.05 versus the stock’s recent $219.45 price.

Danske Bank A S 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 disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,741 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,036,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $10,496,271,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,098,838,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 181.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,481,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 19,724.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $806,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048,351 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $219.45 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $252.82. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $215.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.64.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. HSBC upped their price objective on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. William Blair restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday. Seven 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.05.

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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