PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 5.4%, acquiring an additional 16,425 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total to 319,062 shares valued at approximately $90.3 million.
• Insiders at Progressive have sold a total of 104,250 shares over the last three months, with significant sales from insiders Andrew J. Quigg and Patrick K. Callahan, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.
• Progressive recently announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, reflecting a yield of 15.0%, with a payout ratio of only 2.25%, suggesting a strong financial position for future dividends.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,062 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 16,425 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Progressive worth $90,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Progressive by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,645,000 after buying an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Progressive by 103.4% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 6,726 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,612,000 after buying an additional 3,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. increased its stake in Progressive by 104.0% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 879 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lowered Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $286.88.

Progressive Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE:PGR traded up $2.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $244.11. 332,339 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,258,553. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50-day moving average of $259.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $266.32. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $212.27 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $143.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. The trade was a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.