Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. Acquires 92,760 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 165.3%, acquiring an additional 92,760 shares, bringing its total holdings to 148,870 shares valued at approximately $42.1 million.
• Progressive's latest quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $20.08 billion, up 12.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with the record date on October 2nd and the payment date set for October 10th.

Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc. increased its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 165.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 148,870 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 92,760 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 2.1% of Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Nippon Life Global Investors Americas Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $42,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.0% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.18.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock traded down $5.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $243.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,690,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,616,163. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $142.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $247.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.54.

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, 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 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 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total transaction of $1,557,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 21,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,402,135.52. The trade was a 22.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.