Delta Global Management LP Acquires New Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Delta Global Management LP opened a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter, buying 9,812 shares valued at about $2.23 million.
• Progressive continues to attract major institutional interest, with hedge funds and other investors owning 85.34% of the company’s stock. Several large holders, including Vanguard and Capital International Investors, also increased their stakes.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.80 versus $4.67 estimated, and it recently declared a $0.10 quarterly dividend payable July 10.

Delta Global Management LP purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,812 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,234,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,584,067,000 after buying an additional 593,612 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Progressive by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Progressive by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,398,123,000 after buying an additional 1,217,527 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Progressive by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,375,706,000 after buying an additional 1,092,151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $259.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

PGR stock opened at $203.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.28. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $269.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $199.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.77.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

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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