GQG Partners LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• GQG Partners initiated a sizable Progressive position in the second quarter, buying 7.04 million shares worth approximately $1.54 billion. The stake represents about 1.21% of Progressive and 2.9% of GQG’s portfolio.
• Analysts remain cautious, with Progressive holding a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $236.05. Recent targets range from $200 to $240.
• Progressive reported strong quarterly results, including $5.67 in EPS versus the $4.64 estimate and $23.61 billion in revenue, up 5% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 7,043,101 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,538,570,000. Progressive comprises about 2.9% of GQG Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. GQG Partners LLC owned about 1.21% of Progressive at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $219.45 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.64. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $252.82. The firm has a market cap of $127.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.40 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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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