LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Boosts Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 52.7%, acquiring an additional 12,820 shares in the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to 37,133 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• The Progressive Corporation reported earnings of $4.88 per share in its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $20.08 billion, marking a 12.1% increase year-over-year.
• Progressive's recent quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share is set to be paid on October 10th, representing an annualized yield of 0.2%.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 52.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 12,820 shares during the period. Progressive comprises about 0.9% of LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $10,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group lifted its position in Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $251.19. The company had a trading volume of 4,574,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,178,978. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $253.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.24. 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 $147.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 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 firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.06.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 47,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,949,064.08. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.