KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Sells 12,500 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 5.2%, selling 12,500 shares in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 229,568 shares valued at approximately $61.26 million.
• Progressive's stock has experienced a 2.1% drop, with recent trading opening at $240.50, which is below both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, but its revenue of $20.08 billion was below consensus estimates.

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS cut its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,500 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Progressive were worth $61,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in 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 buying an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Progressive by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,338,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,828 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Progressive by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at $1,473,180,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $240.50 on Tuesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $245.14 and its 200 day moving average is $260.43. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $228.54 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $140.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.55, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Progressive from $343.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.63.

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.

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