Groupama Asset Managment Cuts Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Groupama Asset Managment has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 25.8%, now holding 12,368 shares valued at approximately $3.45 million after selling 4,296 shares.
• Progressive reported a quarterly EPS of $4.88, exceeding analysts' estimates, with a revenue of $20.08 billion, showing a 12.1% year-over-year increase.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.2%, scheduled to be paid on October 10th.

Groupama Asset Managment trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 25.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,368 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,296 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment's holdings in Progressive were worth $3,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,289,037,000 after buying an additional 622,590 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Progressive by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,433,722,000 after buying an additional 915,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Progressive by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,447,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,305,262,000 after buying an additional 337,146 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.18.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR traded down $0.0130 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $248.9370. 2,532,861 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,191,144. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market capitalization of $145.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.02, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $228.54 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.43.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $552,814.32. Following the transaction, the insider owned 47,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 108,556 shares of company stock valued at $27,306,166. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.