The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 11.1%, acquiring an additional 4,884 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total holdings to 48,955 shares valued at approximately $13.86 million.
• Institutional investors now own 85.34% of Progressive's stock, indicating strong institutional interest, while several other firms also reported significant increases in their positions.
• Progressive's stock has seen recent downgrades by analysts, with price targets reduced from $287 to $281, while analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy," forecasting an EPS of $14.68 for the current fiscal year.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,955 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,884 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $13,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $15,289,037,000 after acquiring an additional 622,590 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 61.4% in the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Progressive by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,480,677,000 after purchasing an additional 710,684 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,433,722,000 after purchasing an additional 915,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Progressive by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,447,442 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,305,262,000 after buying an additional 337,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Thursday, reaching $246.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,316,522 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,907,152. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99. 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 company has a market capitalization of $144.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.33. The company's fifty day moving average is $249.97 and its 200-day moving average is $266.18.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock valued at $27,003,746. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.18.

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.