Deutsche Bank AG Sells 282,729 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 5.2%, selling 282,729 shares in the first quarter, while still maintaining a position worth approximately $1.46 billion.
• Progressive's CEO, Susan Patricia Griffith, recently sold over 30,000 shares of the company, representing a 5.70% decrease in her ownership of the stock.
• Progressive reported earnings per share of $4.88 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, although it fell short of revenue estimates with $20.08 billion in revenue compared to a forecast of $20.39 billion.

Deutsche Bank AG decreased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,164,713 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 282,729 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 0.6% of Deutsche Bank AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.88% of Progressive worth $1,461,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,426,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after buying an additional 33,864 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 4.5% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 27,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $247.47 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $213.47 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $258.19 and a 200-day moving average of $266.02. The company has a market capitalization of $145.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business 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 business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 15.0%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Progressive Company 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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