Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac Purchases New Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac opened a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter, buying 6,426 shares valued at about $1.46 million.
• Institutional ownership in Progressive remains high at 85.34%, while several other investors also added modestly to their stakes.
• Analysts are mixed on the stock: the consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $238.11, though some firms still maintain Buy ratings and others have cut targets or ratings.

Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,426 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,463,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 1.7% in the 4th 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 period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 4.6% in the 3rd 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 period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 2.7% in the 4th 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 period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. raised its stake in Progressive by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Argus upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, 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 transaction of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,928 shares of company stock worth $831,251. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $190.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $199.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.74. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $289.96. The firm has a market cap of $111.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67, a P/E/G ratio of 5.64 and a beta of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.

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