Junto Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 67,634 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Junto Capital Management LP invested approximately $19.14 million in The Progressive Corporation by acquiring 67,634 shares during the first quarter.
• Progressive's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88, exceeding expectations, with revenue totaling $20.08 billion, up 12.1% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.2%, set to be paid on October 10th.

Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 67,634 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,141,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after acquiring an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 18.1% during the fourth 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 valued at $1,433,722,000 after acquiring an additional 915,643 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,447,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,305,262,000 after acquiring an additional 337,146 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,473,180,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of PGR traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $245.83. 2,353,143 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,222,724. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $249.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.09. The stock has a market cap of $144.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (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%. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total transaction of $1,557,750.72. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 21,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,402,135.52. This represents a 22.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 108,351 shares of company stock worth $27,003,746 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PGR. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.18.

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.