Giverny Capital Inc. Acquires 13,928 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Giverny Capital increased its Progressive stake by 2.6%, purchasing 13,928 shares to own 542,292 shares valued at approximately $118.5 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 85.34% of Progressive’s outstanding stock.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $236.26. Recent target changes ranged from $210 to $241.
• Progressive reported strong quarterly results, posting $5.67 EPS versus the $4.64 consensus estimate and $23.61 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, while insiders sold $24.5 million of stock during the last quarter.

Giverny Capital Inc. raised its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 542,292 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 13,928 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 4.0% of Giverny Capital Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest position. Giverny Capital Inc. owned 0.09% of Progressive worth $118,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,260,000. Allstate Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $8,447,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at $3,025,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Progressive from $225.00 to $234.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. HSBC boosted their price target on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.26.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,880,743.08. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total transaction of $8,195,691.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 485,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at $106,553,641. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,714 shares of company stock valued at $24,466,294. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.2%

Progressive stock opened at $218.41 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $126.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.81. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $249.71.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.40 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.