Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Trims Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 26%, selling 11,781 shares and bringing their total to 33,561 shares valued at approximately $9.5 million.
• Progressive reported a strong earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a slight miss on revenue projections at $20.08 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a payout ratio of 2.25%, indicating a consistent return to its shareholders.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 26.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,561 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,781 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $9,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,645,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 28.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 10,051 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,408,000 after buying an additional 2,238 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 172,591 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $41,354,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PGR. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $312.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $265.00 price target on shares of Progressive and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $2.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $251.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,574,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,178,978. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $253.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.24. The company has a market capitalization of $147.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $228.54 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

About Progressive

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.