Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Purchases 19,504 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Mirae Asset increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 16.1%, buying 19,504 shares to hold 140,348 shares valued at about $30.07 million; institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the stock.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $4.80, topping estimates, but revenue of $22.19 billion fell short of expectations; the company also paid a $0.10 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.40, ~0.2% yield).
• Insiders have sold 11,687 shares worth $2.41 million in the past 90 days, and analysts maintain a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $238.39.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 140,348 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 19,504 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $30,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Progressive by 7.8% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 12.0% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $336,973.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,626 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,097,573.10. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,687 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,044 in the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of PGR opened at $202.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $118.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30, a PEG ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $192.02 and a one year high of $289.96. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $203.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.91.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PGR. Barclays set a $247.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $227.00 to $210.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $238.39.

About Progressive

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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