Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Sells 5,197 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 1.1% during the first quarter, now holding 486,981 shares valued at approximately $137.8 million.
• In recent analyst reports, price targets for Progressive shares were revised, with Morgan Stanley lowering theirs from $290 to $280, while JPMorgan Chase raised theirs from $267 to $287.
• The Progressive Corporation reported earnings of $4.88 per share for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, despite a slight shortfall in revenue compared to forecasts.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 486,981 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,197 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Progressive worth $137,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth 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 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 13,671 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,276,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 103.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,726 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,612,000 after purchasing an additional 3,419 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PGR stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $241.46. 2,284,632 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,915,410. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $260.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $208.13 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $141.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 15.0%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at $56,832,701.76. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

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.