Nuveen LLC Buys Shares of 5,205,398 The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 5,205,398 shares of The Progressive Corporation, valued at approximately $1.47 billion, increasing its ownership to 0.89% by the end of the reporting period.
• The company reported $4.88 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $20.08 billion despite being below consensus estimates.
• Progressive declared a dividend of $0.10 per share with a dividend yield of 15.0%, paid to stockholders of record on July 4th.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,205,398 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,473,180,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.89% of Progressive as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $242.75. 2,396,450 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,425,107. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.33. 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 cap of $142.30 billion, a PE ratio of 13.68, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $220.33 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company 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 company's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Progressive in a report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $265.00 target price on Progressive and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America cut their target price on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.