MUFG Securities EMEA plc Lowers Stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• MUFG Securities EMEA plc significantly reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 84.3%, holding 37,999 shares valued at approximately $10.75 million.
• Progressive reported a surge in quarterly earnings, posting an EPS of $4.88, outperforming estimates, with revenue growth of 12.1% year-over-year.
• Insiders at Progressive sold over 104,000 shares valued at more than $26 million recently, indicating notable insider trading activity.

MUFG Securities EMEA plc reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 84.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,999 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 204,200 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 0.2% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. MUFG Securities EMEA plc's holdings in Progressive were worth $10,754,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of PGR traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $244.83. The company had a trading volume of 2,523,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,536,841. The firm has a market cap of $143.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $256.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $266.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $220.33 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for 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%. Progressive's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. The trade was a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 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 $795,324.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,977 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,465,387.48. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $283.94.

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.