Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Purchases 7,921 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR raised its position in The Progressive Corporation by 13.4%, purchasing 7,921 shares to hold 66,925 shares valued at about $15.24 million per its latest 13F filing.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $4.80, beating estimates by $0.13, while revenue of $22.19 billion missed expectations; analysts’ consensus target is $238.39 and they forecast ~16.38 EPS for the year.
• Insiders have sold 6,933 shares (~$1.44 million) in the past 90 days, while institutional investors own a large majority of the stock at 85.34% and insiders hold just 0.32%.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR grew its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,925 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 7,921 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Progressive were worth $15,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 833.3% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 168 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $196.00 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $192.02 and a 52-week high of $289.96. The stock has a market cap of $114.53 billion, a PE ratio of 9.96, a PEG ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $202.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.43.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.38 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $259.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.39.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Company 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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