Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Purchases 17,253 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 13.6%, buying an additional 17,253 shares to reach a total of 144,160 shares valued at approximately $40.2 million.
• The company's Q2 earnings showed a significant increase, reporting $4.88 EPS which surpassed estimates by $0.45, although revenue was slightly below expectations at $20.08 billion.
• Progressive's shares have seen price target adjustments from several analysts, with UBS Group lowering their target from $280.00 to $268.00, while JPMorgan Chase lifted theirs to $287.00, reflecting varied market outlooks.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,160 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,253 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $40,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its position in Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $250,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $250,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.54, for a total value of $313,633.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,523,669.16. This trade represents a 4.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,750,829.82. This represents a 8.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,972 shares of company stock valued at $9,078,681 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $241.63. 1,088,067 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,267,352. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $208.13 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $141.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $262.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.14.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

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.