Mizuho Securities USA LLC Lowers Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 15.5%, selling 8,616 shares and now holding 46,906 shares valued at approximately $13.3 million.
• The Progressive Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88, exceeding estimates by $0.45, although revenue fell short of analyst predictions at $20.08 billion.
• Insider trading activity included significant share sales, with one insider selling 8,922 shares for over $2.2 million, reflecting a trend of over 104,250 shares sold by insiders recently.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 46,906 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 8,616 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $13,275,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 36.4% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after buying an additional 33,864 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 498.5% during the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 4.5% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,406,000 after acquiring an additional 523 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business's 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 sale, the insider directly owned 47,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Nine investment 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.94.

Progressive Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $244.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,523,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,536,841. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $220.33 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $143.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $255.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Progressive 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.