Impax Asset Management Group plc Has $48.63 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Impax Asset Management trimmed its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 6.8%, selling 15,509 shares and holding 213,530 shares valued at about $48.63 million at the end of the quarter.
• Analysts have an average rating of "Hold" on PGR with an average target price of $238.39, based on 6 Buys, 14 Holds and 2 Sells.
• Progressive's recent quarter beat EPS estimates ($4.80 vs. $4.67) but missed revenue expectations ($22.19B vs. $23.51B); the stock trades near $200 with a P/E of 10.2 and a 0.2% dividend yield.

Impax Asset Management Group plc decreased its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 213,530 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 15,509 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc's holdings in Progressive were worth $48,625,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Evercore reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Argus upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $150,201.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 2.3%

NYSE:PGR opened at $200.62 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $203.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $213.50. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $192.02 and a 52-week high of $289.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $117.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20, a P/E/G ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.37 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.39 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 2.03%.

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.

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