Nykredit A S Acquires New Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 192,321 shares of Progressive in the second quarter, valued at approximately $42 million. Other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions, with institutions collectively owning 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $5.67, exceeding estimates of $4.64, while revenue reached $23.61 billion and rose 5% year over year. The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a 0.2% yield.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $236.26, compared with the stock’s reported $223.90 price. Meanwhile, company insiders sold more than 113,000 shares worth approximately $24.5 million over the prior 90 days.

Nykredit A S bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 192,321 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,013,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG increased its holdings in Progressive by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 61,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,536,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 2,603 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $569,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Natural Investments LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. SkyOak Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $287,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $525,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $223.90 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $249.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $217.67 and a 200-day moving average of $207.71. The company has a market capitalization of $130.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company's revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Progressive from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $769,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 42,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,370,900. The trade was a 7.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 113,714 shares of company stock valued at $24,466,294 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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